Silver Star Mountain Resort’s Mountaintop Security was kept busy Thursday night after a suspicious truck attempted to steal a bicycle.
Shortly after 11 p.m., July 2, a suspicious dark green Ford F-150 with alleged stolen plates was encountered by security.
The vehicle and the two occupants, men wearing hoodies and dark clothing, left quickly. Police were called and set up on Silver Star Road, but the truck was able to evade the officers, according to Silver Star Property Owners Association operations manager Brad Baker in a social media post.
Luckily, Mountaintop Security recovered a stolen bicycle that had been ditched by the older Ford.
“Fortunately, Silver Star does not record many bike thefts each year, but they do and will occur occasionally,” Mountaintop Security said in a social media post.
“Last night, one occurred but through the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time, we recovered it before it was removed from the resort.”
Mountaintop Security is reminding cyclists to record bike serial numbers, “don’t be among the 80 per cent who don’t have this information on hand.”
Security also suggests downloading the bike’s description on the app 529Garage/Project 529 — a free and wide community database tool to assist in recovering stolen bicycles.
Most police agencies throughout the province have partnered with this program.
“Remember, if you are considering buying a pre-owned bike from an unknown source, that app can be used as an additional measure to see if the bike is possibly on that database as stolen — before you buy.”
Silver Star residents are advised to keep bicycles secured and out of view when not in use.
Cable locking the bike to the vehicle bike rack may be “better than nothing,” security said, but it can still be easily breached by criminals “in the business” of bike thefts.
For those cycling to the main village to eat or shop, security recommends keeping bicycles situated within the centre of the main village for “optimal oversight.”
The increase in construction activity at the resort will attract criminals looking for easy targets of opportunity, Mountaintop Security said.
“Tools and bike are hot commodities and thieves will grab either or both if visible and insecure.”
Residents of the resort are reminded to keep eyes and ears open for the community.
“If you see something ongoing that appears suspicious, especially during the evenings or nights, please gather as much detail as you can in a safe manner and please call security at 250-503-7716(c).”
“In the end, the old adage is relevant: ‘lock it or lose it’ and ‘out of sight, out of mind,” security said. “Enjoy your summer and please be safe.”
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