Yvonne Carnell and Mr. Bumble.

Image Credit: Submitted: Yvonne Carnell

When Mr. Bumble was stolen from Yvonne Carnell’s locked parking garage in downtown Vernon at the beginning of January she went on a mission to get her 50cc Yamaha scooter back.

Along with reporting the theft to the RCMP, the 63-year-old plastered downtown Vernon with posters of her distinctive yellow and black scooter she lovingly named Mr. Bumble, hoping someone’s conscience would get the better of them and return her wheels.

Two days ago, Feb. 12, she got a phone call.

“It was this guy and he said he knew who had it and he had made them well aware that it was stolen and that they had to give (it) back,” Carnell told iNFOnews.ca. “He said he would meet me and he did. He had the bike with him."

Carnell said Mr. Bumble was returned undamaged and the only thing missing was the licence plate.

"It absolutely restores your faith that people still do have a decent conscience,” she said.

Carnell said the man explained the scooter had been sold several times since it was originally taken and he had told the scooter’s latest buyer it was stolen and he should give it back.

“Which is amazing,” Carnell said. “Basically it was nothing to do with him, he could have let this guy deal with it and sell it on."

Carnell is extremely grateful the man didn’t turn a blind eye and stood up for her.

“He said he did not like this stuff going down in his neighbourhood,” she said.

With no battery in the scooter or key to start it, Carnell wonders what anyone would have done with it. In an effort to have it returned she even called battery stores and locksmiths to see if anyone tried to buy a battery or have the locking barrel replaced.

Carnell moved to Vernon last year from rural Vancouver Island and said she had never locked anything in her entire life. Now Mr. Bumble will be securely locked and she’ll put storage insurance on the scooter while it’s retired for the winter.

A recent convert to two wheels, Carnell bought the previously-owned 50cc gas scooter for $2,500 two years ago and doesn’t own a car. She says she loves the cheap gas, easy parking and “classic breeze in your face” you feel when riding a scooter.

Now she’s just waiting for the snow and ice to melt so she can get back on the road.

“I just zip around,” she said. “I love it.”

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