A White Rock woman whose e-bike was stolen last weekend said Friday she was ecstatic to learn that morning – on the same day that news of the theft was reported in Peace Arch News – that it had been found by alert readers.
“I’m so excited,” Julie Curry told PAN shortly after the good news came from police.
“They found it, somebody read it. Isn’t that awesome?”
Curry contacted PAN last Monday to appeal for help spreading the word of the theft, in the hopes someone might spot the candy-apple-red Gio and contact police.
The e-bike had been nicked from the underground parkade of her Blackwood Street condominium between 9 p.m. April 6 and noon the following day.
Police told PAN at the time that they had no evidence that might help them identify the culprit or locate the Gio.
Friday, Const. Jay Valdez confirmed the e-bike was found by someone who had read about Curry’s plight in PAN.
“It looked like maybe they had tried to take it, but they couldn’t start it or something,” he said.
While at the scene, two more people approached with a newspaper in hand stating they were about to report it, too, Valdez said.
Valdez said the e-bike was located “just a couple blocks” from Curry’s home, but that it was unlikely to have been reunited with Curry if not for the alert reader. The e-bike is not registered and, had it been simply towed from the scene, there would have been nothing to link it to Curry, he said.
“Pretty slim chance it was going to get found otherwise,” Valdez said.
Curry said she wanted to extend “a huge thank you” to the person who recognized the e-bike and took the time to contact police.
“Just the spirit of White Rock,” she said. “That was a shot in the dark (to appeal to the public through media) and it worked.”
