A Vancouver resident prepared to leave work one afternoon last week near Hastings and Thurlow. He took his bicycle from the inside safety of his office and temporarily locked it up on a stair railing outside of a downtown hotel while he went to get his car from the underground parking lot. There was not enough clearance underground for him to place his bike onto his roof rack.
He returned to his bike after three to four minutes to find the bike gone, the lock cut, and another bike in its place.
The bike owner started driving throughout the neighbourhood and spotted a man a few block away with his bicycle. He followed the man from a distance, as he called 9-1-1, watching as the suspected thief handed the bike off to another man outside a Downtown Eastside residential building, and relaying the information to the 9-1-1 operator.
Officers went in to the building and recovered the stolen bike, which was returned to its grateful owner. The suspect in the original theft was arrested on outstanding warrants.
