Bike Index's November stolen bike recoveries

Thanks to a tip to Portland Police, my bike was located during a search of a suspicious person. The bike has been "modified" (all the accessories were removed, tires changed and the frame painted a bit). Having the serial # was the key to ID'ing it...

Recovered by Portland Police, ID'd in the Bike Index

Recovered by Portland Police, ID'd in the Bike Index

Recovered by Portland Police, ID'd in the Bike Index

This was a special recovery for us - This bike was one of several bikes stolen from cross-country riders in Portland this summer in a mini-epidemic of soul-crushing thefts. This was the third or fourth high profile bike theft from cross-country cycle tourists in Portland - it was a pretty low point. Fast forward to November 2015, when one of our spotters found it for sale on Ebay. We got in touch with the seller - who we recognized as a local bike rebuilder and someone who has helped out the Bike Index in the past - and when he realized it was the same bike he shipped it back to the owner ASAP.

Bryan from Bike Index sent me a note along with a link to Craigslist. Then he pointed me to the right people to speak to from the police from the city where my bike was on sale. After we spoke to the local police about the case, they picked it up from the seller and confirmed the bike was mine.

There's a whole lot about this particular bike recovery I need to omit, because the Seattle police assisted with this one and an arrest was made - and it's not entirely done yet, however the victim confirms: "The King County Prosecutor's Office has filed criminal charges in the case in which I am a victim." Seller was a longtime suspect Craigslist seller more or less known to everyone as involved in stolen bike sales.

Recovered by SFPD Tenderloin and ID'd via the Bike Index

Recovered by Portland Police and ID'd via the Bike Index

(Portland Police) contacted me after they arrested a drug dealer that had my bike...

Recovered by Portland Police and ID'd via the Bike Index

Recovered by Portland Police and ID'd via the Bike Index

Recovered by Portland Police and ID'd via the Bike Index

Recovered by Portland Police and ID'd in the Bike Index

Someone saw it being ghost ridden and tweeted at me. I was able to find it locked to a street sign and called the police to cut the lock and get my bike back.

This bike was found for sale on offerupnow.com, the seller was contacted by the owner, who provided proof of ownership, and the seller then returned the bike. Having clear evidence of the serial and a police report were key.

Someone bought it at a bike shop, checked the Bike Index and then saw it was stolen and returned it to me.

This was also a special recovery: this bike was one of two stolen in a nearby burglary - and it was I bike I had personally registered at one of Portland's Sunday Parkways earlier in the year. Fast forward to November 15th, when a nearby spotter found it stashed in the bushes in a nearby apartment complex. I ran over and, ah, repossessed the bike and delivered it to the owner, and got this great before/after photo :) Their remarks: "I am happy to have my bike home! Knowing other people out there are thoughtful and helpful like you goes a long way in restoring distrust that creeps in when a theft like this happens. Thank you!"

This is another one that's still in process with Seattle PD, so there's not much I can share here - however this bike was part of a 5-bike heist worth close to $40k. We spotted one of them for sale on Offerupnow.com and alerted the owner via twitter, who engaged police, who performed a sting. Again, this is ongoing, but two of the bikes were recovered. Hopefully more are coming back shortly.

Recovered by Portland Police and ID'd in the Bike Index

This stolen bike recovery story comes from our friend and supporter Kevin Schmidt - MSPT, CMP, Cert. BikePT / Physical Therapist, Bike Fitting Specialist at pedalpt.com - and all around awesome guy and a huge supporter of our work here at Bike Index. Some of you may recognize Kevin from his free-coffee-on-Clinton events, which he invited us to many, many times to help us spread the word. I had a blast hanging out with the @pedalpt folks at these events all summer, so, needless to say we’re super excited we helped Kevin get his stolen bike back!

My bike was stolen back in September, then someone sent me a link to a bike (ed: for sale, on offerupnow.com) that looked exactly like mine. I arranged to buy it. I met with police, who instructed me how to go about the purchase. They intercepted the purchase as soon as it started, and I got my bike back!

Here's a crazy story: this bike was stolen in San Francisco, and then bought from online marketplace 'segundamano.mx' - 'second hand' -- over 1900 miles away in Guadalajara Mexico! The owner confirmed the bike was a match, but the sheer costs and logistics of getting it back made doing so impossible. In the end, they bequeathed the bike to its new owner and the bike was de-listed from the Bike Index.

Somebody saw this Bike Index post and then saw the bike and called the police and the bike was recovered.

This Giant Anthem was stolen off a MAX train in Portland OR, and listed for sale online a few days later. The lister was a local pawn shop, so we advised the owner how to go about retrieving his bike using his police report, photos, etc. In the end the bike was returned.

A woman took this bicycle for a test ride (from an online seller) and checked here (on Bike Index) first. She didn't buy the bike, but took a photo of the seller's license plate. The police then went to the seller's house and reclaimed the bike!

Recovered by Portland Police and ID'd in the Bike Index.

It was purchased by a used bike reseller, who looked up the serial number on Bike Index.org, where it was listed as stolen, found my phone number, called me and told me to come get my bike, no charge! I was pleasantly flabbergasted.... Thanks for doing the right thing! The bike was mostly in good shape, 1 year later, with a few missing lights and fenders, but the bones were still good! Thanks, bike index!

This bike was one of two stolen in an apartment burglary in the Pearl District in Portland OR. Two days later, someone found it stashed under weird circumstances and got in touch. From the owner: "(individual) found the bike 20 miles from where it was stolen, emailed into this website, confirmed the serial number and I met up with him. Thank you for hosting this incredible service Bike Index! "

Not to be over exuberant or anything, but I'm ecstatic. A guy named (redacted) called last night, said he was working with the police and he was almost certain this was my bike. I took the bus down to the Seattle Police Southwest Precinct this afternoon, and lo and behold, there it was. Almost 2 months later. Thank you so much, Bike Index.org and (redacted)!!!

Stolen. Listed in the Bike Index. Spotted on Craigslist a few days later by a Bike Index spotter - we sent them our "I found my stolen bike for sale online" playbook and they were able to get police involved and get the bike back.

"Bike thieves are terrible people. They cut off my car rack and took the twice-locked bike with it." Five days later, officers with King County Sheriff's office spotted this in the wild and pulled it back after identifying it from the Bike Index listing.

My Mikkelsen was stolen from my condo bike cage ... they cut through the fence and then cut the lock and rode off with the Mikkelsen and someone else's bicycle. The theives also broke into 4 cars in the condo garage and stole various personal items. The theives gave my bike to a well known substance abuse offender on the street and the King County Deputy spotted him ... The person had an outstanding warrant so the bike was put into evidence storage and Deputy Nix started looking for the owner, and hit your website. So all the stars just seem to line up on this one. A very dilligent and thoughtful Depty Nix (on-bike patrol officer) and his awareness of the street life and custom bicycle makes that just didn't add up. Kudos to the Bike Index website and to Deputy Nix!

Another Nix score! "Deputy Nix found it (the person ran off and left) and matched it in the Bike Index. Wahoooo! Back on two wheels! "

I immediately registered it on Bike Index, filed a police report, and set up an IFTT alert for my bike on Craigslist. It was posted the day after it was stolen, taken down, then posted again a week later at a much lower price. My girlfriend was able to get the seller to respond to a request to buy, she met him and purchased the bike back for $200. I used the link on Bike Index to warn local bike shops that the thief was attempting to sell it locally, so after a week or so of not being able to move it locally, he was forced to sell it online at a very reduced price.

Another recovery by the King Co. Sheriff team: "Thanks to Bike Index and the King County guys, I got my bike back! AMAZING! THANK YOU!"

Another recovery by the King Co. Sheriff team - they were really on a tear this week. :)

"Portland police recovered it and emailed me through the Bike Index"

"Someone saw my bike posted as 'found' on nextdoor - they recognized it from Bike Index, and came here to message me! I am so grateful!!!"

This is still in process, i.e. we're arranging the recovery, but here's the gist: "Hello! Recently I purchased a bike second hand, and when I got home I ran the serial numbers and saw the many postings asking for your bike to be returned. I can't believe it's been since 2013, because the stickers are still present on your bicycle.. I would love to set up a time to speak on this further with you and arrange a meeting to return it to you.. I look forward to your reply!"

Another double recovery - "Someone in our NextDoor neighborhood online community went to the homeless camps and got the bikes back, called & returned both of them to me. Trike is in good rideable condition. The Quickie Mach II wheelchair handcycle is not rideable -- the handles were removed and one was jammed through a gear, one of the quick release axles is missing. I never thought I would see them again, so the man who retrieved my bikes is to be commended for his help!"

Stolen from a shop, and then: "... found the bike for sale near the shop on offerupnow.com. Made contact with the guy, overbid everybody and met up with him Saturday morning with the boys in blue. We now have our bike, and (the seller) from offerup has a brand new set of silver bracelets for Christmas!"

"Still working on this one with Law enforcement - but I did recover my other bike through a pawn shop, Craigslist and the help of Bike Index."