HAVERFORD >> It was her son Aidan\u2019s only Christmas present \u2014 a top-of-the-line, Fuji Nevada 21-gear mountain bike with disc brakes, purchased from M & M bicycle shop in Bryn Mawr. In early April he was playing with friends on t<\/b>
\nHAVERFORD >> It was her son Aidan\u2019s only Christmas present \u2014 a top-of-the-line, Fuji Nevada 21-gear mountain bike with disc brakes, purchased from M & M bicycle shop in Bryn Mawr. In early April he was playing with friends on the turf field behind the high school when it was stolen.
\u201cHe came home very upset, \u201d said Aidan\u2019s mom, Carolynn Butko. \u201cHe had left the bike unlocked with his friends\u2019 other bikes and someone had stolen it. I was very upset. It was hundreds of dollars.\u201d
She notified the police and gave them the serial number.
\u201cThey said they\u2019 d contact us if anything turned up but I was persistent, \u201d Butko said. \u201cI\u2019 m looking for that bike everywhere I go. I called (police) a couple times a week to keep it fresh in their mind.\u201d
She didn\u2019 t stop there. She asked friends to keep an eye out for it and posted notices on the popular Havertown Community Facebook page.
Friends told her they saw it in the neighborhood, but nothing definitive. Then last week Aidan spotted what looked like the bike on a website that sells skateboards, bikes and other used goods called offerup.com. Unlike Craigslist, the offerup site includes photos. Looking at the pictures, they were certain it was their bike by the M&M bike shop sticker and other markings.
The bike was for sale or trade for $425. The same seller had another bike for sale for which he was asking $800. From the photos, Butko also determined the street, which appeared to be Havertown.
At that point, Butko started performing social media searches looking for the seller\u2019s first name, which was distinctive.
\u201cI found a kid on Instagram with that name and we followed him, then I started calling area parents asking if they knew him.\u201d
Using an old school directory, she found his address. She went to Google street maps and looked at the photo, it matched the ad. They called the police to report it, then drove over to the house.
\u201cBy now it\u2019s 11 p.m. at night, but their lights were still on so I decided I\u2019 m calling, I wanted my bike, \u201d said Butko.
\u201c \u2018Your son posted pictures of a bike online,\u2019 I told the dad, \u201d Butko said.
\u201cI know it\u2019s your house and your kid stole it. I just want to let you know I\u2019 ve notified the police, \u201d she told him by phone.
The man told Butko his son had bought the bike last week. Butko again called the police, who told her to let them handle the issue.
\u201cThe police officer went over that night. We watched from down the street. Finally they came out with the bike, put it in the truck and we met him (police officer) at the station and he returned it.\u201d
\u201cIt\u2019s your neighbors, they\u2019 re robbing me and that (stinks) , \u201d Butko said. \u201cThat\u2019s a step beyond.\u201d
Police confirmed that the stolen bike was returned; however they were unable to comment on the case while it is under investigation.
Bike thefts are way up, according to Havertown Detective Michael Flynn. He said during the period of January to June 2017,34 bikes have been stolen in the township, a 113 percent increase over 2016 and over a 200 percent increase over the past two years.
Flynn said bike theft is a property crime, which tends to increase during hard economic times. Police also see a link to the opioid abuse issue, people looking for something they can turn around for some quick bucks, used to score drugs.
\u201cWhile some thefts are some kids stealing from other kids, a lot of these bikes end up in Philadelphia, \u201d Flynn said. \u201cA lot of times they are crimes of opportunity. Even though this is Havertown, lock your bikes up. Lock them up. The same with cars, lock the cars.\u201c
\u201cNot a lot of stolen bikes are recovered, \u201d Flynn said. \u201cWe do recover bikes but not all come from our town.\u201d
Flynn urges residents to record the bike serial numbers. That is the only way police can trace a bike if it stolen. That is what allowed Butko to prove the bike was hers. Flynn said when cars that are recovered, police can run registration numbers through a police data base to find the owner but there is no such system for bicycles. Flynn suggested taking a picture of the serial number, which is on the bottom of the bike, and saving a copy.
\u201cSecuring your bicycle, locking your car and home are simple but vitally important steps to reducing the chance of victimization, \u201d Flynn said.
Police told Butko the boy with the bike, a Havertown Middle school student, told them he bought it from a high school student.
\u201cI\u2019 d like them to have a consequence, \u201d Butko said. \u201cHe could be charged with receiving stolen property and the other boy could get charged with theft. I just wanted it back!\u201d<\/p>\n

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