Some creep just stole my kid's bike

[Momgonepostal]

Since we live in a condo with not much space, and don't have a garage, my almost 12 year old daughter keeps her bike chained to a pole in front of our house, right in our car-port area. I went out there to get the mail, and on the way back, I noticed that her bike was gone, and the chain had been cut right through and left on on the ground. I am soooooo mad!

Granted, this was not a fancy bike, we bought it used for $10, but I'm very upset that someone would steal from a child. What a dirt bag!

I told her we would replace the bike, but I'm not thrilled at having to shell out the money OR find a place to keep it indoors. :mad:

Thanks for letting me vent, dear lounge!

[lost-in-nj]

1. Some people

are just scumbags,,,,

Jesus, how do they sleep at night????


:hug: :hug:

to your daughter....



lost

[Momgonepostal]

2. Thank you

It's not even like the thing could have had much resale value. Thanks for the hugs.

[Critters2]

3. Every once in a while, we find a bike in the church dumpster

The police tell us that kids steal 'em because they don't want to walk somewhere. Once they get close to where they were going, they throw the bike in a dumpster or just in an alley, then either walk home or steal another one and head the other way.

I was so furious when I heard this!! These bikes belong to kids! What the hell is wrong with people?!

:hug: to your daughter!

[Momgonepostal]

6. Wow, that's nervy!

I suspect that's not the case here. Since the thing was chained, and the chain cut, the person would have had to be carrying some kind of wire cutters with them. I suppose it's possible, but...

[Omphaloskepsis]

9. Honestly.. I have stolen an adult bike to ride a few miles..

It was unlocked and I needed to get someplace quickly. I just dropped it off when I got to where I needed to go. I know it was a shitty thing to do. But, it was better than running the entire way.

[Greyskye]

12. Well, you NEEDED to get somplace quickly

And oh my god, you would have had to run! :eyes:

:wtf: is up with people?

[Critters2]

13. It was a shitty thing to do.

Just to let you know...if my house is unlocked, don't help yourself to my stuff. Think you can control yourself?

[Kutjara]

17. Because your needs trump everyone else's?

I love the "I just dropped it off" part. No, you fucking dumped someone else's property when you no longer had a use for it. Maybe they needed that bike to get to work. Oh yeah, I forgot, your needs are more important.

[RedCappedBandit]

22. ...wtf nt

[blondeatlast]

24. Yeah, theft is better than having to run. What a crappy thing to do.

That's just way low. :mad:

[Book Lover]

26. And this is supposed to make the OP feel better, thief?

Days like this make me wish karma was real.

Thief.

[SallyMander]

4. if you live in/near a city

you should check on craigslist to replace it -- e.g. boston.craigslist.com

People post bikes on there like crazy, and they're usually really affordable.

~Sally

[Momgonepostal]

7. I was just looking there...

there were a couple of possible prospects. I'll call tommorrow.

Our town also has a garage sale site on Yahoo, as well as a Freecycle, so I posted requests there as well.

[MrCoffee]

27. check Craigslist to see if they're selling YOUR bike

[GoddessOfGuinness]

5. That sucks!

You might try "The Bike Club" http://www.bikelock.com/Products.asp?Target=The%20Bike%20Club

Hugs for both of you... :hug::hug::hug::hug::hug::hug:

[Momgonepostal]

8. That's an interesting tip, thank you!

I'm about to leave for work, but I'll read more about it later. Thank you! (and thanks for the sympathy hugs, too) :-)

[qanda]

10. I hope you wrote down the serial number and took a picture of it

I always do that when I buy bikes. A couple of years ago someone stole my son's bike and the police were able to find it and actually prosecuted the person who stole it. It really sucks that people are mean enough to take something from a child-- it doesn't matter how much it cost.

[GOPisEvil]

11. Sounds like you need to go postal on someone.

:hide:

Seriously though, what an abject fuckwad that person is.

[Momgonepostal]

14. ITA!

My neighbor told me if he found the person who did it, his actions might put HIM in jail, so I offered to bail him out. I guess that's being an accomplice to going postal. :-)

[Sequoia]

15. Can you hang it on the wall?

Jerry Seinfield does that. (Okay, so maybe I watch too much TV) I was at the bus stop the other day when a gal who sometimes rides along had her bike with her and then she tells me she stole it from a guy who was picking through the trash for cans. She whizzes by him and he gives chase. I asked her why she stole the bike because she stole another one from under a bridge before that and that very day it gets taken by someone because she didn't lock it up. I haven't seen her since, but it sure bothered me.

[Momgonepostal]

19. I remember that about Jerry! :-)

We might look into getting those ceiling hooks. I hate to have bikes hanging in our living room, but until we can get a bigger place, that might be what has to happen.

That story of yours bothers me, too. Stealing from the homeless, or at least from people who have to pick through the trash for cans seems awfully low.

[Sequoia]

23. Yes, me too.

She's sadly, not the sharpest, and is almost homeless herself. She went to college and seemed to have a bright future ahead of her but something happened along the way and I guess she gave up on life so to speak. She said she wouldn't go back to where she took the bike 'cause the guy might hurt her. I'm thinking...geez, let me step away here.

[noonwitch]

16. That happened to my neighbor a few months ago (inside for a very nice story)

I live in a neighborhood that is about 60% white, 40% black, and my suburb is not known for racial openness (Warren), due to a history of refusing Section 8 money and a mayor who once called a kid the n word.

Anyways, the kid across the street, who is black, had just gotten a very nice new bike. He left it in the front yard to run quickly into the house, and when he came back, some bigger kids were trying to ride off on it. I yelled at the kids to drop it, but I'm old and not able to catch anyone on foot. The guy two doors down from me saw it all, jumped into his truck and chased the two down a few blocks on 8 Mile Rd, where they dropped the bike and ran. He brought the bike back (I watched his kids while he was chasing the punks down-they were cheering "Go Daddy, Go Daddy!).

My neighbor who chased the kids down was white, and I think that the situation is a good example of how terrific our neighborhoods could be if we all looked out for each other.

[Momgonepostal]

21. Cool story!

There are some moms and dads in our neighborhood who would do the same thing. Heck, I would, too.

[Blue Diadem]

18. That's really rotten.

I've heard of them cutting bike locks/chains but never had it happen. I'd suspect older teens or adults would do that.

Here, we're the ones who usually find the bikes dumped along the road or back in our valley.

When we lived in the city, we had a one attempt and one stolen, both times by really bold young kids. The first from our fenced back yard, happened in broad daylight. I looked out and saw the kids look back at me as they road off through the gate. DH ran out the front door and chased them down a couple hundred feet. The kid with my son's bike dumped it because DH was right behind him and kicked at the back tire. The other time, my kids had gone to the park/pool at the end of the block and a kid asked my son if he could try out his new bike. Needless to say, oldest son learned a lesson that day since his bike was never seen again.

Vent away MGP. It doesn't matter if you paid $10, $100 or got it free, it was your daughter's bike and no one had the right to come steal it.

[1gobluedem]

20. Some people can't resist anything

I had a broken down old bike leaning against my house awaiting trash day. Someone took it in the night and I saw it abandoned about two blocks away. Both tires were flat and it had no seat but the person took it anyway.

I feel bad for your daughter and you. Stealing from a kid -- so pathetic.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

25. That's sickening

Poor kid (and you). :hug:

[DarkTirade]

28. I can't tell you how many times that's happened to my family

especially when my brother was working as a bike messanger. One of those many times, when the thief couldn't cut the chain on his bike, the thief decided to just take the bike with the chain on it. So the thief broke the railing it was chained to.