A Colorado woman took matters into her own hands when her bike was stolen – by tracking down the thief, asking for a test ride of the bike and then riding off on it.
ABC News Denver reported that Kathryn Lucas, 25, found her Trek 1.2 road bike on classifieds website Craiglist after it was stolen from outside a bar on 4 October. She knew it was hers because of the red bar tape and bottle cage, so she responded to the advert, pretended to be an interested buyer and arranged to meet up with the seller.
The man, who called himself Lance Robinson, agreed to let her take the bike for a test ride, and immediately she knew it was hers. So she carried on riding to her car, threw it into the boot and drove away. Though it wasn't what she'd originally had in mind, she felt it was an opportunity she couldn't turn down.
“Lance Robinson” was later arrested, and turned out to 18-year-old Denzel O’Neal Crawford. He admitted stealing the bike and was released on bail. Police told Lucas that while she was successful, it was a tactic they couldn’t recommend.
