THE most-wanted bike in Margaret River was returned today to a man offering $100,000 reward to capture the thief who took it.
Surfpoint Resort workers had seen reports of Richard Lowe’s stolen bike and made a connection with one they had found abandoned on their property a few weeks ago.
Neighbours to Mr Lowe's home in Gnarabup, they met with him this morning to confirm it was his missing retro-style 'beach cruiser'.
“I came here two weeks ago and asked if they had my bike!” Mr Lowe exclaimed.
Resort manager Peter Swanson explained he had initially believed the bike belonged to one of his guests.
“But everyone checked out and the bike stayed there,” he said.
When he and his family noticed the bike and reward reported in the Mail, they thought ‘Yippee! We could put the money towards renovations’, he said.
Mr Lowe’s reaction upon seeing his bike was, “Sick! Thanks so much, I’m stoked.
“I don’t have to walk anymore.”
He suspects it was an “inside job”, the thief possibly being a tourist staying in his nearby residential area.
“They didn’t take it very far, probably about 100m from home,” Mr Lowe said.
“I should have put a GPS on it.”
Mr Swanson said the story was a great indicator of the power of social media.
“Even though you’re right next door, you didn’t know your bike was here,” he said to Mr Lowe.
“And we didn’t know it belonged to you [until we read about it].”
Finally, the two men got to the subject of the $100,000 reward.
Mr Swanson made jokes about it.
“Give us the money and the bike doesn’t get hurt,” he said.
However, it is not the bike Mr Lowe is offering the reward for, but rather the capture of the thief who took it.
Surfpoint Resort’s CCTV footage could possibly show moments of someone riding past the resort laundry on the bike, but Mr Swanson doesn’t think this will be enough to determine their identity. The video recordings are still being examined by the resort.
Asked if he would continue to hunt for the thief, Mr Lowe said no.
“But I will always keep an eye out for [other] thiefs,” he said.
He still feels annoyed at the fact someone walked through his backyard gate and took his property.
“I know it’s just a bike, but it’s not their bike,” he said.
If the thief is ever captured, Mr Lowe is not concerned about having to pay out the $100,000.
“I wrote a terms and conditions - $1 monthly installments,” he joked.
His bit of advice to bike owners is, “Buy a bike chain and shut the gate.”
Editor's note: Rumours and one misleading Facebook post have implied the $100,000 reward amount is incorrect and should be $1000. However the $100,000 amount was posted on the Margaret River Buy and Sell page, has been checked with Mr Lowe on numerous occasions, and is correct.
Read original reports: Possible lead on bike thief (Nov 6), Big reward for bike thief's conviction (Nov 5).
