West Shore RCMP and Victoria Police have worked together to return a stolen bicycle back to its rightful owner.
Jason, a Langford resident, originally reported the bike stolen in September 2019. He had locked up the bike outside his workplace before work and when he returned, realized it had been stolen.
West Shore RCMP was assigned the investigation, and soon after, Cst. Hooper took over.
Hooper had met Jason and his mother Sharon just a few months prior to the theft under unfortunate circumstances, as the family was dealing with the loss of Jason’s step dad.
“It broke my heart to find out his bicycle was stolen. Jason had already been through a tough time; this bicycle meant a lot to him,” said Cst. Hooper.
Cst. Hooper kept an eye out for the bike, and reviewed surveillance video in the area but was unable to find the thief.
Fast forward to April 2020 when Cst. Moretto of VicPD who, during her patrol, came across a male suspect who was in breach of several court ordered conditions.
Cst. Moretto found that the suspect was in possession of Jason’s stolen bike, and proceeded to arrest him.
Cst. Hooper and Cst. Moretto personally met with Jason to deliver his bicycle back to him.
“Jason was so happy to have his bike back. This meant a lot to him and to us as well. The look of joy on Jason’s face made our day, and we were happy to work together to help out, said Cst. Moretto in a statement.
“I was happy to get my bike back because it was my first bike that I saved up money to buy,” added Jason.
“The bike is a form of transportation for me to go places, and gets me to and from work. I also want to use this bike to participate in different charity events.”
