It hit home hard for a brother and sister in Williams Lake last weekend.
They learned it’s important to lock up your bikes, and that registering them with the city’s bike registration program might have been an added form of protection.
Damien Damery, 12, and his sister Layla Cartwright, 7, had their bikes stolen from the family carport at their home on Hodgson Road Friday evening.
The theft most likely occurred when they were at home, the siblings say.
Damien had waited all summer for a new bike and a few days ago he finally got a one.
“It was a brand new mountain bike, with 6.2 clearly labelled on the side,” he says. “I only had it for three and a half days when it was stolen. When I found out, I thought it was pretty terrible.”
Layla’s wasn’t a new bike, but she rode her Triumph all the time.
“It was a black 21-speed. It was pretty old, but I rode it a lot, on the road and on the trails,” she says.
Upset that her grandchildren had their bikes stolen, Shannon Jarvis of Chetwynd contacted the Tribune to share the story.
“Their parents reported it to the police and were told that it is very unlikely that anything can be done about it,” Jarvis wrote in an e-mail, adding that people need to stand up and make it a lot more unpleasant for thieves to operate in Williams Lake and everywhere.
Williams Lake RCMP Insp. Warren Brown says due to the volume of crimes in Williams Lake, “albeit some bikes are valuable,” the police are not able to provide the same effort into investigating bike thefts as they do for domestic assaults, break and enters, and crimes of that nature.
Cognizant of the fact that bicycles are a high theft item in Williams Lake, the city introduced a bike protection program in April where bicycle owners are encouraged to register their bikes.
Cyclists complete a registration form and include a photograph of their bike.
The owner retains the information and, in the event the bike is stolen or lost, can bring the form to the city’s bylaw services department.
Registration forms are available at www.williamslake.ca, city hall, and local bicycle stores. There is no fee for the bike protection program.