?Just three weeks after the free 529 Garage bike registration service was launched by Canterbury Police and Christchurch City Council, a bike flagged as stolen was reunited with its owner.
When Mark¡¯s bike was stolen from the bike shed at his apartment building in Central Christchurch in February, he didn¡¯t expect to see it again.
To his surprise, soon after it was stolen he spotted it in a nearby property. Mark called Police who visited the address, but the bike had already been moved on.
He¡¯d seen something about 529 Garage in the media, so he registered his bike and flagged it as stolen. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have the serial number.
Meanwhile, Constable Olivia Bensley, one of the Police administrators for 529 Garage, was investigating another matter when she saw Mark¡¯s bike.
¡°Without the serial number it would have been almost impossible to identify. Coincidentally, I¡¯d seen his bike on 529 Garage when I was trying to identify a different bike. It was pure chance that I recognised it when I saw it at the address.¡±
Although a few parts had been switched out, there was a recognisable scratch on the frame that Mark says happened when he came off in the Port Hills while mountain biking.
Olivia asked Dave from RAD Bikes, a community bike workshop, to give the bike a spruce up, then arranged for Mark to visit Christchurch Central Police station to collect it.
¡°Registering my bike on 529 Garage was easy but I didn¡¯t really expect to see it again," says Mark. "I prefer biking to driving a car, unless it¡¯s raining, so I¡¯m thrilled to have it back.¡±
Since its launch on 12 April, over 1500 bikes have been registered on 529 Garage. To find out more and .