Montrealer reunited with stolen bike 2 years after theft
Sebastian Gallup called Montreal police, who took bike to station to investigate
When Sebastian Gallup got his bike stolen two years ago, he never thought he’d see it again.
His highly customized black and red Masi bike was stolen from him outside a Ste-Catherine Street West bar.
Gallup told CBC News that he'd just finished unlocking his bike when an assailant grabbed his lock and hit him in the face with it, knocking him to the ground.
"When I got up, the guy was gone [with the bike]," he said.
He filed a report with the police and then scoured Craigslist and other online classifieds for any sign of his bike, but after a month of searching in vain he gave up.
"I admitted to myself that the bike was gone... I forgave the guy, I got over it. It happened," he said.
And so Gallup was extremely surprised to find what looked like his bike just yesterday outside an SAQ at Place d’Armes, on the corner of Notre-Dame and Ste-Sulpice streets in Old Montreal.
“When I saw it I knew right away it was mine. It was crazy,” Gallup said. He said everything down to the handlebar tape was the same as when it was stolen from him.
He called 911 and waited for police, who then hoisted the bike over the pole it was attached to and took it to their station.
Const. Manuel Couture of the Montreal police said the bike remains at the station while they investigate. Couture said they have the name and contact information for the current owner, in case the bicycle turns out to be a doppelganger for Gallup’s Masi.
Couture said they will check the serial number of the bicycle against Gallup's receipts and the bicycle store’s records to verify its true owner.
He said people should register their bicycles with their local neighbourhood police station to increase their chances of being reunited with missing bikes.