Krystal Allen's mom's bike after it was painted teal.

Image Credit: Krystal Allen

When a Penticton woman saw photos of her mom’s stolen bike posted to a local Facebook group, she brought her mom and step dad to the house it was parked at and grabbed it right from underneath the alleged thief.

Krystal Allen said her mom’s bike was stolen from her home on Sept. 20. It was easy to identify as it has many unique features – it’s a cruiser-style bike that came with a custom design by Cariboo Brewing, as it was purchased from somebody who won it in a draw.

Allen, who was tagged by a friend within a few minutes of the post being shared, headed straight for the house where her mom’s bike was photographed. She said she felt a rush of adrenaline.

One of the pictures on the post show a man riding the bike while it was still in its original black paint. But minutes later, when Allen arrived, the bike had a new coat of teal paint, and there was a strong odour of wet paint. As many members of the public were rooting for her on the Penticton page, she suspects the alleged thief knew she was coming, which is why he hastily tried to paint it.

Allen said she pulled up in her vehicle at the same time as her mom and stepdad arrived. The man was trying to use the bike to get away, but her stepdad grabbed the bike from underneath him.

“No comment on the rest,” Allen said, except that she “called him a few words.”

A man was photographed on a bicycle that Krystal Allen identified as being stolen from her mom. Within minutes of the image being shared to social media she confronted the man and retrieved the bike.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK

She said the man left by walking around to the back of the building, and then she began taking photos of all the other items strewn across the property and posting them in the comments on her Facebook post.

Someone else living in the building came outside and got angry that Allen was taking pictures.

There was a “whole spray-painting... session happening in the corner” where several other items had changed colour, she said.

Allen said the new colour could've be worse, but the man did a bad job and got paint on the wheels. And she liked the custom patterns the bike came with, which will be impossible to completely restore now.

“It could have been nice if he did it properly," she said.

READ MORE: Bicycles are becoming a form of currency as thefts continue to rise: RCMP

Nevertheless her mom was very excited and grateful to have the bike back.

Allen didn’t contact the RCMP because she felt like there was no time to spare. And considering how the alleged thief was trying to pedal away when she arrived, she’s doubtful the police could have responded in time.

Having been the victim of crime on several other occasions, Allen has contacted the Penticton RCMP in the past, but said on the last three occasions dealing 9-1-1, she waited five to 10 minutes just to connect with dispatch.

However, Allen did work with the RCMP last time she confronted thieves. In June, thieves smashed her mom’s car window and stole a valuable longboard from Australia. When she found out the longboard outside of a drug store, she was glad the police were on their way, as one of the two men using it was carrying a large stick that looked like it had been made into a weapon, she said.

On another occasion, thieves had started walking her motorcycle down the street late at night, but she was able to chase them down and get it back.

“I get my stuff back every time," Allen said.

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