Pricey Bend bike theft echoes store’s earlier hit

“Our alarm went off, our security cameras were on,” said Henry Abel, a sales associate at Bend’s Pine Mountain Sports, said Monday. “That’s the good news. The bad news is that they did leave before the police showed up.”

A price tag is all that’s left behind of a $6,000 bike at Pine Mountain Sports on Bend’s Westside.

Thursday morning around 3 a.m., a man broke into the store and stole two bike frames and the bright yellow Santa Cruz Bronson.

It isn’t the first time this has happened.

“Coincidentally or not, a year ago we had a similar break-in. One bike was stolen,” said Abel.

A thief broke into the store last July, through the same door, and stole the exact same model: a bright yellow Santa Cruz Bronson.

“It’s a bike that’s in pretty high demand. Bike thieves have good taste in bikes too,” said Abel.

The last time, Bend police eventually caught the thief, through a series of tips from the community.

They also recovered the bike. The thief had sold it to someone, who then sold it to a bike store in Portland. The owner of the bike store in Portland found the transaction suspicious and researched online if a bike with this description had been reported missing.

He stumbled upon this article by NewsChannel 21’s Renee Nelson: http://www.ktvz.com/news/bend-burglars-steal-pricey-bike/20931698

Pine Mountain Sports got that bike back later in the year.

Now they’re hoping to repeat that success story.

Sources tell NewsChannel 21 that on Thursday morning, a white van with tinted windows and roof racks was spotted in the area around the time of the break-in.

Across town, another bike store had a similar experience.

“Somehow, someone broke one of our windows trying to get in,” said Mike Schindler, owner at Sunnyside Sports in Bend.

Sunnyside Sports got broken into last Saturday.

Luckily the thief was not able to get through the window, and left without taking anything.

A day later, Sunnyside’s next-door neighbor, the sushi restaurant Kanpai, reported a burglary as well. The thief broke the glass door and got away with money.

Security footage shows a familiar object.

“A white van, before and after the alarm went off,” said Schindler.

Police are still looking for that suspect.

He is 6 feet tall, medium build, wearing a black puffy hoodie and a ski mask.

If you have any information about the suspect, contact the Crime Stoppers tipline at 1-877-876-TIPS, or the form on KTVZ.COM’s Crime Stoppers page.

You can remain anonymous, and if your tip leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward.

Here are the details of the items stolen from Pine Mountain Sports. Keep your eyes open for them:

Santa Cruz Bronson Carbon Complete Bicycle – Size Large “Tennis Ball Yellow” color is very hard to miss… Value $6400 Serial Number: PSJ1311CL0109

Santa Cruz Bronson Carbon Frame (Frame Only) – Size Medium Matte black with orange and yellow graphics – very hard to miss… Value $2700 Serial Number: GFSNL0013LM03715

Santa Cruz TallboyLT Carbon Frame (Frame Only) – Size Medium Matte black with “Tennis Ball Yellow” graphics -very hard to miss… Value $2900 Serial Number: GFSNG0013GM04686