When someone offers to return your stolen bike
01-18-22, 08:45 PM
#26
Occam's Rotor
Thread Starter
01-18-22, 08:46 PM
#27
Occam's Rotor
Thread Starter
The simplest explanation is he didn't pay for the bike.
01-18-22, 11:18 PM
#28
Occam's Rotor
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I have to admit I am pleasantly surprised. (Bike on their car, I think that is a Portland police station in the background.)
01-18-22, 11:20 PM
#29
Occam's Rotor
Thread Starter
Conclusions:
(1) Possibly imperfect people are still capable of Doing the Right Thing.
(2) BikeIndex.org works remarkably well.
(3) Sleep with your bike and keep your leg wrapped around the top tube.
(4) WTF really happened?
(1) Possibly imperfect people are still capable of Doing the Right Thing.
(2) BikeIndex.org works remarkably well.
(3) Sleep with your bike and keep your leg wrapped around the top tube.
(4) WTF really happened?
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01-19-22, 03:26 AM
#30
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and at the same time 
Possible explanation -- PWB knowingly looks for possible stolen bike - obtains the bike - then makes the effort to return to owner without personal gain but really wants a donation to be made.
wgscott wrote --- "I have to admit I am pleasantly surprised."
I am an extreme pessimist ALWAYS expecting the worst of any situation. My rational is I am always right and prepared for consequences OR pleasantly surprised = win-win
Last edited by OldTryGuy; 01-19-22 at 03:36 AM.
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01-19-22, 04:41 AM
#31
Wow! Very surprising story.
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01-19-22, 05:59 AM
#32
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Glad he got the bike back. A rather odd and rare event. (reminder to self..finish entering data on my bikes on the site..)
May or may not matter to your son, but a little research may indicate the ASPCA is a better investment than the Humane Society.
May or may not matter to your son, but a little research may indicate the ASPCA is a better investment than the Humane Society.
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01-19-22, 07:45 AM
#33
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Given the outcome, the most likely explanation to me is that the bike purchaser let himself get conned into believing a too-good-to-be-true deal was legitimate (suspension of disbelief in order to get a big payoff is how a lot of scams work--e.g., the lottery scam, a lot of people convince themselves they actually forgot they played the lottery they supposedly won). Obviously, once he knows it's stolen, it's absolutely worthless to him unless he's willing to risk being charged with a crime himself--he can't ride it because if he's caught with it, he's in possession of stolen property and he can't sell it as selling stolen property is itself a crime. If he stole this or bought it knowing it was stolen, I don't think there's any way he would have agreed to dropping it at the police station because the obvious way to ditch the stolen evidence if that was his only concern is just to discard it somewhere, like literally throw it into a ditch. The simplest explanation for why he brought it to the police station is he wanted to correct the harm caused by his mistake.
Do you know whether they gave the police a statement as to how they got the bike?
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01-19-22, 08:32 AM
#34
Senior Member
Yes, though I'd consider that fairly improbable. The thief likely didn't give it away for nothing on Offerup.
My guess would be the guy did buy it, and upon learning it was stolen he realized he couldn't ask for money without risking trouble for possession of stolen property. He might well be pissed off at himself but chose to do the right thing.
IMHO if he was the thief (or was connected to the thief) he wouldn't have contacted the owner - and if he was having trouble selling it he'd just throw it in a ditch or off a bridge somewhere.
Glad the bike found its way home. That's pretty rare AFAIK.
My guess would be the guy did buy it, and upon learning it was stolen he realized he couldn't ask for money without risking trouble for possession of stolen property. He might well be pissed off at himself but chose to do the right thing.
IMHO if he was the thief (or was connected to the thief) he wouldn't have contacted the owner - and if he was having trouble selling it he'd just throw it in a ditch or off a bridge somewhere.
Glad the bike found its way home. That's pretty rare AFAIK.
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01-19-22, 10:05 AM
#35
Occam's Rotor
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That was my sense, too, but he apparently specifically asked for Humane Society.
01-19-22, 10:07 AM
#36
Occam's Rotor
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My kid says he told him he bought it out of the back of a van where he had gone to buy some advertised tools. (The bike hadn't been advertised yet.)
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01-19-22, 10:52 AM
#38
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Late in the night, he gets a text from someone saying they purchased his bike from offerup or something like that, offering to return it. No mention of money or identity. Apparently he purchased it from a van full of bikes, so I doubt this person was simultaneously naive enough to do that innocently but then also would get the news from BikeIndex.
What is the best way to proceed? Currently he has notified the police and arranged to meet in a well-lit grocery store parking lot along with several capable friends and a cop on "standby" (whatever that means).
What is the best way to proceed? Currently he has notified the police and arranged to meet in a well-lit grocery store parking lot along with several capable friends and a cop on "standby" (whatever that means).
01-19-22, 10:54 AM
#39
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That's oddly plausible, he advertises the not-stolen tools and doesn't have to post the ad for the stolen goods which he "just happens" to be carrying in his van. No doubt some story about how he's selling it for a neighbor who got tired of it sitting in his garage or whatever..
01-19-22, 01:16 PM
#40
Occam's Rotor
Thread Starter
They aren't, and told him as much. Apparently there is a known bike "chop shop" around the corner from where he lives, and the neighbors even put up signs warning about it. It has gone on for years.
01-19-22, 01:24 PM
#41
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That's oddly plausible, he advertises the not-stolen tools and doesn't have to post the ad for the stolen goods which he "just happens" to be carrying in his van. No doubt some story about how he's selling it for a neighbor who got tired of it sitting in his garage or whatever..
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