Woman steals own bike back from thief

Kayla Smith of Vancouver discovered her stolen bike on Craigslist, arranged to meet seller and asked if she could test ride it; she then rode off with bike.


A woman in Vancouver whose bike was stolen discovered someone was selling it on Craigslist and went about stealing the bike back in a hilarious tale she shared on Facebook and Reddit.

Kayla Smith had her bike stolen from a friend’s house last Wednesday and posted on Facebook, “that I was disappointed and sad because I had worked so hard for the bike. I absolutely love, love, love my bike. So needless to say I was choked.”

She called police to report the theft and phoned the bike shop to retrieve the bike’s serial numbers.

An hour later, a friend called her and said, “Dude, I think I found your bike on Craigslist.”

Smith recognized her bike in the post and called police again but was told it might be another day before an officer got back to her.

“This guy is selling my bike right now!!!” Smith explained. “I am not missing this opportunity waiting for a call. So I jump into action.”

Smith made arrangements to meet the seller at a McDonald’s.
mcdonalds

“When I pulled into the parking lot I still had no plan of attack,” she said. “I got there and saw the guy with my bike. He was wearing board shorts, a raggedy tank top, and dark sketchy glasses. I noticed that it was my bike right away because of the RIDE ON stickers on the frame and the fact I have a silver handle bar plug on the left and a black one on the right … Here is where I started thinking on my feet.”

Smith asked the guy if she could take a test ride around the parking lot.

“Yeah, just don’t ride away,” the man told her.

“Of course, I’m like, ‘Don’t you worry, I won’t,’” she related. “And then I just ride away.”

Classic.

“To be honest, I was shaking and freaking out,” she said. “I … couldn’t believe what the [heck] just happened.”

When Smith met up with a friend in another parking lot, she was giddy with excitement, jumping up and down “like a 6-year-old getting an ice cream cone.” The thief was last seen running away from the scene.

The serial numbers did match the bike, incidentally.

“After that,” Smith said, “I called him and personally left him a message apologizing for not sticking around to pay him for the bike HE [FREAKING] STOLE FROM ME!!!”

Canadian police urged people not to take matters such as these into their own hands, but in this instance, it all worked out. Hysterically so.