A rash of overnight thefts has left several Jasperites with empty bike racks.
A number of bikes went missing sometime during the late night of Oct. 19 or early morning of Oct. 20. Four thefts were reported to the RCMP, representing a total value of about $8,000, including a single bike valued at about $4,000.
Corp. Ryan Gardiner of the Jasper RCMP said the detachment is following up on some specific leads, but has yet to catch any suspected thieves.
Rachel Bailey is one of the theft victims. Her Giant Intrigue 2 mountain bike was locked to a bike rack behind a shed, wedged between several other bikes.
Because of its location, the cut lock, and the fact that other unlocked bikes were parked nearby, Bailey is sure her bike was specifically targeted.
“I’m pretty gutted,” she said, reflecting on the theft.
Bailey saved all winter to buy her bike, which she used frequently during the summer. She said now that it’s gone, there’s no way she’ll be able to afford a new one.
“I won’t be able to save up for a new bike; there’s other priorities. That was a luxury, there are necessities that I need to pay for.”
Gardiner said the RCMP is looking at every possible scenario, but the thefts were most likely targeted, and committed by someone passing through or just leaving town.
“These thieves, they know what they’re looking for. They’re not taking low range stuff, they’re taking medium range stuff that they can sell for 25 or 50 bucks a part here or there,” he said.
The RCMP has reached out to detachments in neighbouring communities to see if any similar thefts have occurred there. It is also continuing to investigate suspicious activity and make routine patrols.
And while police are doing everything they can to catch thieves, Gardiner said the community plays a big role in solving these types of crimes.
“With police work we really rely on information from the public. We don’t have crystal balls on our desk that we can look into and find a vehicle taking bikes. We need people to provide us with information on who is committing a crime.
“Certainly people need to be reporting to us suspicious activity. If they notice somebody driving around the neighbourhood and it looks like they’re casing stuff out, [they] need to call us so we can check it out.”
Simply posting complaints on the Internet and hoping the RCMP sees it is not enough, Gardiner said, joking that “we don’t get dispatched by Facebook.”
He said police take the utmost care when dealing with personal information, so no one should worry about confidentiality, or their name getting out.
While RCMP search for the bike thief, Gardiner reminded Jasperites to be more vigilant with their belongings, especially in the transitional seasons when a lot of people are leaving town.
“If your bike is worth thousands of dollars, you might not want to lock it up with a $20 lock; you might want to put it in the house,” he said.
Bailey agreed with Gardiner.
She said she would love to be able to trust people, but it’s prudent to be careful. She admitted that if she ever buys another expensive bike, she will lock it in the basement or shed.
“I’m beating myself up. Like, what could I have done differently?” she asked, shaking her head.
“Maybe I just trusted [people] too much. But when you have to start thinking about theft when you live in Jasper, it just sucks.”
Anyone with information about the thefts is encouraged to call the Jasper RCMP at 780-852-4421.
Trevor Nichols
[email protected]
