West Precinct detectives returned a burgled bike to its rightful owner Thursday after a man called police and said someone was trying to sell his stolen wheels on Craigslist.
The victim’s bike went missing on March 12th from a downtown office building in the 1100 block of Olive Way, where security cameras captured a masked man making off with the victim’s $1,450 bike, which had been stored in a secure locker.
After discovering the theft, the victim posted a picture of his bike on Craigslist, asking for help finding it.
A week after the theft, on March 19th, the victim received a tip that someone was trying to trade the bike on Craigslist in exchange for an iPad. The tipster provided the seller’s cellphone number to the victim, from who promptly provided it to police.
West Precinct burglary/theft detectives began texting with the seller and set up a meeting at a gas station outside of Seattle. When the seller showed up with the bike, police confiscated it and returned it to the victim. Detectives interviewed the suspect and released him pending further investigation.
Updated to clarify that a tipster advised the victim his stolen bike had been posted on Craigslist.
