It’s the kind of story that thousands of people can relate to, and thousands of people who have been the victims of theft are cheering for kayla Smith.
The story of poetic justice has been picked up by
dozens of news agencies world wide. © cbc
In spite of the hefty lock on her $1100 bicycle, Ms, Smith, a 33-year-old bartender in Vancouver, came back in the evening to where she parked it in the afternoon and found only an empty space.
Stolen bikes are nothing new in major cities, in Canada or elsewhere. Vancouver police said over 1,400 bikes were stolen in the city in 2011, almost 1,700 last year, and this year almost 800 were reported stolen in the first half of the year. Few however are returned to their rightful owner.
Ms Smith called police to report her stolen bike, but early the next morning, a friend spotted an advert on Craigslist for a bike which sounded surprisingly similar to Ms Smith’s.
Ms Smith says. “I called the guy up, totally played super sweet, was like, ‘Hi, how are you? You know, I have the day off today, why don’t I come meet you?’ ”
Meeting in a public parking lot,she was unsure of a plan. Upon seeing the bike and certain identifying features, she knew it was hers. Asking to take it for a test ride, the man agreed, with the corollary, “just don’t ride away”.
Ms Smith says, “My heart was pounding and I had no idea what to do so I just got on the bike and was like f— this guy and started to ride.”
Ms. Smith said she’s passed the seller’s information on to police. A woman who answered the phone Monday denied involvement. Hiding from a safe distance away but still able to see him, she said he soon realized something was up and ran away.
a state of shock” © Jennifer Connolly
The incident prompted Vancouver police to caution residents against taking matters into their own hands, even though Ms. Smith’s bike might have been lost if not for her sleuthing.
However, Yvonne Bambrick, an urban cycling consultant in Toronto, said cyclists feel police don’t take bike thefts seriously. That’s one of the reasons people take matters into their own hands.
She told a Globe and Mail reporter that she could recall two prior incidents where people found their stolen bikes on Craigslist and took them back.
As for Ms Smith, she told reporters, “I’m still in shock”
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