A dirt bike ditched in a parking stall along 27th Avenue in Vernon has been reunited with its rightful owner.
Mary Borden, a Vernon resident and mother of 13-year-old Adrian, said she saw a photograph of her son’s missing dirt bike while flipping through a copy of the Vernon Morning Star.
“My kid and his dad never reported it stolen to police yet,” Borden said, noting she wasn’t even aware it was missing until she saw the photograph of the distinct yellow Suzuki DRZ dirt bike in the newspaper.
Luckily, Borden had recorded the Vehicle Identification Number and was able to provide it to police when she phoned in. Only a half-hour after calling in the VIN, police confirmed the bike they found Oct. 16 is a match.
“It was pretty exciting,” Borden said.
“My son had this bike taken before his birthday — September 28,” she said.
Borden said Adrian got the bike last year but had to wait a couple of months to “grow into it.” After a short season of riding, the bike went missing.
Vernon North Okanagan RCMP released an image of a bike similar to the one they found Nov. 4 in hopes to find the rightful owner.
The bike was found abandoned in a parking stall in the 3800 block of 27th Avenue Oct. 16. Police couldn’t locate the owner so the dirtbike was moved to a secure location while officers continued search efforts.
“He never thought he’d see it again,” Borden said.
Borden, with the help of her sister, collected the bike from police and loaded it up in a truck to return it to Adrian in Lumby.
“He squeezed me so tight that I lost my breath,” she recalled. “He picked me up off the ground and gave me a big hug.”
She explained to him that she saw the photo in the local newspaper and called in straight away.
“‘See dad,'” she recalled him saying. “‘We should read the newspaper more often.'”
Ultimately, the lesson learned, Borden said, is how important it is to record identification numbers on expensive items.
“It pays to have important things registered,” she said, noting this experience has inspired her to start educating her kids to be proactive.
“A good end to the story,” said Vernon media officer Const. Chris Terleski.
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