An Adelaide woman who had two bikes stolen found one within hours after conducting her own investigation, with a man now arrested on theft and other charges.
Mile End resident Koral Chandler said she came home on Wednesday afternoon to discover her roller door had been opened and that two bikes, including the e-bike, had been stolen from her backyard.
“I immediately had that horrible drop in my stomach,” she told 891 ABC Adelaide on Thursday morning.
“I have one really special road bike that I like to ride and we have a beautiful e-bike that I get the kids to and from school on.”
Police today confirmed an arrest had been over the incident, and that a 44-year-old man had been charged.
Ms Chandler says she used the e-bike to take her kids to school. (Supplied)
Ms Chandler said the roller door was closed when she left the house about 9:15am, but was open when she returned about four hours later.
The e-bike was bought second-hand earlier this year when fuel prices spiked, Ms Chandler said.
“It was two-and-a-half grand,” she said.
“Not as high-priced as some of the ones I see around here, but still quite a hefty chunk.”
Ms Chandler began calling pawnbrokers and said that, within hours, she had tracked the road bike to a Cash Converters outlet.
“They were so excited to help. They called immediately, they made sure everything was alright, they got the police involved,” she said.
Ms Chandler says her stolen bike surfaced at Cash Converters. (Supplied)
But the e-bike was not at the store, and she suspects it may have ended up at another retailer.
“The independent pawnbrokers were a little bit less willing to help,” she said.
“One of them let me know that if they accidentally accept stolen goods they don’t get the money back, if they have to give them back, and so they were far less willing to tell me whether they had the bike.
“I’m not actually holding out too much hope for the e-bike, but it’s a pretty special one. My kids were really beside themselves when we got home.”
Ms Chandler says the e-bike cost about $2,500 second-hand. (Supplied)
Ms Chandler put a call out on Instagram, asking anyone who saw her “beloved bikes” — a Giant OCR2 and an Aventon Abound — to contact her.
She reported the thefts to police, suggesting “one or two” businesses for them to check.
“SAPOL have actually been really great, but I’m aware that they can be quite under-resourced for these kinds of things,” she said.
In a statement, SA Police told the ABC they had received information “that one of the bikes had been presented to a second-hand dealer at Torrensville” and that they were investigating.
“A 44-year-old man from Mile End was arrested and charged with theft and other unrelated matters,” police said.
An image from a marketplace website of the model of e-bike Ms Chandler says was stolen from her home. (Supplied)
Police said the man would appear in court in November.
They also issued advice to victims of theft and to pawnbrokers, saying that the latter were required to keep detailed records of all transactions and “notify the police if they suspect that goods are stolen”.
“Victims who have had items stolen are best placed to identify their stolen property and can alert police if stolen property is located for sale, to which police are able to investigate,” they said.
“Anyone who locates their stolen property is urged to contact police on the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 and to allow police to appropriately investigate rather than attending and retrieving stolen property themselves.”