Internet finds Vancouver wheelchair user's stolen bicycle

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Internet finds Vancouver wheelchair user's stolen bicycle North Shore News

What could have easily been a sad story quickly turned wholesome as the internet helped reunite a Vancouver wheelchair user with his bicycle — in less than 20 minutes.

On Oct. 19 at 8:15 a.m., Reddit user neek1997 posted that his father's bike was stolen out of their backyard the night before. The bicycle had been customized for the last decade to suit his father’s needs as a wheelchair user; as such, neek1997 wrote it was incredibly important to his father’s mental and physical well-being.

At 8:32 a.m. that same morning, Robin, who goes by u/anvilman on Reddit, posted that he had found a stolen recumbent bicycle.

“I was leaving for work and noticed the bike stashed under a stack of floor mats,” Robin wrote in a message to Vancouver Is Awesome. “I hadn't seen the Reddit post yet, but this was clearly stolen, so I tried to move it somewhere secure.”

I found your stolen recumbent

After Robin moved the bike, he posted a picture of it to Reddit and called the Vancouver Police Department (VPD).

“While I was on hold with the VPD non-emergency line, I got a message connecting me with the original post,” Robin wrote. “I sent the poster my phone number so he could call me and get the location. He picked it up soon after that and got it back to his dad, which was a relief.”

About an hour later, u/neek1997 posted a photo showing his father giving a smiling thumbs-up next to his bike.

While Robin considers the exchange a heartwarming one, he called for more public awareness so these good stories can happen more often.

“I'm really glad it got back to its owner, but I think all of us should be looking out for each other and taking action when we see things that aren't right,” Robin said. “That's the only way we build community and resist the apathy and anonymity of living in a city.”

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