Social media pals combined with a bit of good luck to catch a thief red-handed and return a bike to a Duncan family Wednesday.
It all started when Adrian Cools came home and noted that his daughter Kaia’s bike had been stolen.
Then it all unraveled for the theives.
“We have an alarm system,” said Kaia’s mom Natasha Cools. “The system has an alarm bell in the driveway and a camera, too. So, anytime there’s movement, it records it. We can look at it.”
She was lying down when her husband came home.
“I didn’t know anything about it and he came home and said, ‘Hon, Kaia’s bike’s been stolen from the driveway about half an hour ago by two ladies’.
“So, we just pulled it up on the camera, and watched the video and I posted it.”
Social media kicked in.
“It was shared 200 times in 45 minutes. One of my girlfriends sent me a message and said, these two are right down by the police station right now. So, my husband said he was going down there.”
From there, the story becomes even more unbelievable.
“He told me he got down there and my daughter’s bicycyle was sitting there on the front steps at the police station. So he went inside.
“And there they were, in there. They said they were there because someone had found a backpack and said to my husband, why are you here? So he said, you were just in my yard and stole my bike, that’s why I’m here. One girl took off, running out the door, and my husband stood in front of the door so the other one couldn’t get out. He showed the video to the police officer.”
A speedy arrest because of social media, Cools said.
“It’s social media, knowing lots of people. People were messaging me their names and where they stay. I said to my husband that I wish all crime was this easy. Who steals a bike and goes to the police station?
“It’s the drugs in this town. It’s sad. I totally have compassion and I’m sad. People do things that they wouldn’t normally do because of the drugs they are putting in their system.”
