The Moab, Utah Police Department is investing a string of high-end mountain bike thefts that happened in one day. On Monday, June 27 the department posted on Facebook that “In the last 24 hours, up to 6 high-end mountain bikes have been stolen from at least 4 different locations in Moab, to include a couple hotels.”
The department said that the bikes were locked with cable locks which appeared to be cut with bolt cutters. The bikes could have been stolen overnight, they note, and the suspects could be scouting for potential bikes during the day. The stolen bikes were possibly stored outside rather than in a secure hotel room. The department is actively reviewing surveillance footage.
According to KSL-TV, a Utah news station, thieves got away with about $22,000. One was taken from a Grand County campground and another four were taken from within Moab city limits. One bike was worth $6,000.
“They obviously knew what they were looking for because none of these bikes were cheap,” Moab Police Assistant Chief Lex Bell told KSL-TV.
The department told KSL they are working with hotels to discuss preventing stolen bikes. Bell said he recommends using a steel chain and padlock to lock bikes if they need to be stored outside and to keep serial numbers handy. Obviously, storing a bike inside a hotel room if possible is the safest option. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Moab PD.
Storing bikes outside? With the inexpensive cordless die grinders and angle grinders, they’ll be gone in a hot minute, sadly.
Hell, I won’t lock my bike at the grocery while I go in for a few items… They are nasty tho’ and ask me to take my bike outside. My response is to do business only with bike friendly businesses. The other option is to fire up my 427 and pollute.
22k in bikes sounds so much wilder than just 4 bikes…
But to echo sunspot, I would never ever leave my nice bike out in the open with a cable lock. Hell, I wouldn’t even leave it out with a chain. Maybe I’m paranoid, but these bikes are really freaking valuable. Kashima is easy to recognize as valuable, ya know.
Indeed…even four or five bikes targeted in Moab, which usually seems to be isolated from crime and problems consistent with more populated towns is surprising though. I’ll leave my bike unlocked on camping trips, but this shows that’s a bad idea.