Tricia Veltri was finally reunited with her stolen bike earlier this week.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Tricia Veltri
July 19, 2019 - 6:00 PM
KELOWNA - Like many victims of theft, Tricia Veltri didn't think she'd see her bike again, but thanks to eagle-eye keyboard warriors and the police, her vintage two-wheeler is back under lock and key.
Veltri locked her green Norco Cruiser outside her apartment near the Landmark Buildings on June 7 and returned to see that it was stolen. She filed a police report, posted about the theft on social media, and waited.
"I didn't have high hopes of getting it back," she said.
Veltri got a fair amount of false leads for the next month, never getting closer to finding her bike. But on July 16 there was a breakthrough on Facebook. A woman named Shelley Styba posted an ad on Kelowna Swap and Shop selling a bike that looked identical to Veltri's stolen Cruiser. Several users recognized the stolen bike and reached out to Veltri to let her know.
The post that caught everyone's attention.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Kelowna Swap and Shop
Veltri contacted the police, who told her to contact the seller and set up a time to meet so she could get her bike back. The seller, who received loads of negative comments on Facebook for trying to sell a stolen bicycle, never showed up. Veltri feared her Cruiser had slipped out of her grasp.
But she credits the police for refusing to let the case go. She said they tracked the bike down to a storage locker near Heath House on Highway 97. As soon as she got her bike back she went to Canadian Tire for the strongest lock in stock.
Veltri was blown away by everyone's efforts to get her bike back.
"It's nice to know people care," she said.
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