Stolen Bike Returned to Owner Three Years Later

It’s not every day that a victim of theft is reunited with their stolen property—especially three years after the fact. But thanks to some good police work and detailed reporting, that’s exactly what happened this month.

Cst. Derek Thompson of the Ottawa Police Service Central Neighbourhood Resource Team recently recovered an expensive iGO electric bicycle that had been stolen from the ByWard Market back in August 2022.

While investigating, Cst. Thompson dug into OPS’s database of online theft reports. Although the owner had not been able to provide a serial number at the time of the report, they included enough detail about the bike to confirm a match. That attention to detail proved critical in helping police return the bicycle to its rightful owner—three years after it went missing.

“This is another example of the system working, even when victims least expect it,” said Cst. Thompson. “The more information you provide, the better our chances are of helping you get your property back.”

The OPS reminds all cyclists to take the extra step of registering their bikes with Project 529 Garage, a free online tool that allows you to record your bike’s serial number, photos, and other identifiers. This information makes it much easier for police to track and recover stolen bicycles.