This is a long story but hope you guys find it interesting.

About a month ago I bought a Raleigh Gran Tour through the "OfferUp" app. I was hoping to get it for ~$40 but settled for $70 because I really wanted to see what a Reynold 531c frame was like.

I was excited to restore this bike and have it street ready but my schedule was busy for a couple of days. I took some "before" pictures and let the bike rest in my backyard against the wall overnight. (Big mistake because some cheap Schwinns of mine were recently stolen from there. The thief casually entered from the side gate. I didn't mean to leave the Raleigh out overnight but I was tired/sleepy from running errands and forgot about it)

Before I headed out for school the next morning, I wanted to assess how much work the bike required. I checked my brothers' rooms where I keep the rest of the bikes and immediately panicked. I rushed out to the backyard and surely it wasn't there. I was devastated but mostly just felt dumb and angry at myself, especially because I looked through the photos and saw that I didn't take a picture of the serial number! I filed a police report anyways.

Eventually, I stop being upset about the whole situation and continue searching Craiglist or OfferUp for a good deal. Then one day I decide to try another app my brother-in-law told me about, called "Let Go". I search "Road Bike" and about 20 swipes in I see my Raleigh! I'm shocked and in disbelief for several seconds. I pull up my photos and confirm it is indeed mine. Somehow the thief and I took the same exact pictures. Also crazy how he put it up for $80 as well. I bought the bike from someone about an hours drive away and knew he wasn't the thief. I call the police and explain the whole situation to them, that my bicycle was up for sale and the app shows the seller's approximate location, which was near my house. They agreed that the bike in the posting was mine but after 10 minutes of searching their computer for the thief they came to the conclusion that they can't do much about it. They aren't allowed to go knock on the guys front door without the serial number. I had a feeling this was gonna be the case and although the police officer told me he would look into it, I wasn't expecting anythinl. All I could do was message the seller and hope he would respond so we could meet up at a shopping center. That's where I would either confront him and take my bike back or call the police, which they were okay with. For some reason they were getting excited over potential sting operation.

But weeks go by and I eventually lose interest and don't feel like pursuing the stolen bike. Fast forwad to a couple days ago. I am putting gas before I go out for lunch with a friend. I'm running late and this might sound unbelievable but I think "wouldn't it be funny if don't even make it to lunch because I see the thief riding my bike and I have to go on a chase" So...I pull out of the gas station back on to the main road and about 100 yards in the distance I see a man in a bright orange shirt riding a vintage looking bike. I knew that bike was mine! My heart starts racing, I get closer, and yup, it definitely is mine. He has made his way across the street into the shopping plaza. I'm thinking "oh I better not lose this opportunity" I frantically keep my eye on him and get into the left lane to make a u turn for the plaza but of course the light just turns red. Luckily though the thief isn't in a hurry. He leaves the bike against the wall and goes inside the liquor store. I call the cops but hang up immediately, "what if it isn't my bike??" But when I park in right in front of the store and I'm about 10 feet away from MY bike I call the cops. They ask for details and advise me to keep a safe distance. After they clarify whether I said "bike" or "bicycle" the urgency in the dispatcher's voice disappears because of course they'd only waste their time if it was a motorcycle. I ask if they'll be here anytime soon but they say it might be a while. Time to take maters into my own hands.

The thief comes out to get his bag that he left on the bike and goes back inside the liquor store. I notice there is a long line and it'll be some time before he comes out. I get out of my car and go take what's mine. I was calm and just walked off with it, not back to my car, but next door to the pet store. As I'm inside the pet store, I wait and watch to see him scurry around the parking lot and eventually accept that "his" bike was stolen.

Here is the part that bothers me. I felt bad seeing him walk away all sad. I shouldn't have felt or still feel that way but he's an old man and looks like he needed the bike. But that guilt is going away gradually because I have to remind myself he came into my backyard and stole the bike.

I have my bike back and I'm excited to restore it to the best of my abilities. I attached the pictures and hopefully they show up for you guys. I took the pictures
before I learned on here the correct way to take bike pictures so I apologize if the format is incorrect.

Sorry, some pictures didn't go through and are out of order.

See, this is why when you steal a bike the first thing you do is repaint it. Last century I lived in an Italian university town where buying stolen bikes from junky bike thieves was so accepted and commonplace that hardware stores stock bike locks right by the spray paint.

I thought about that as well but some details of the story I left out say otherwise.
1.) When I picked up the bike the front wheel fell off, he did a poor job of putting on a new wheel and the quick release axle. He lost the screw for the axle.
2.) Other indicators that he just quickly made the bike rideable for himself were the electric tape as handlebar tape and some sort of construction tape on the weathered leather saddle.
3.) I talked with a neighbor the day it was stolen and let him know to be cautious with his bicycle and motorcycle because there is a thief in our neighborhood. He told me "i'll be on the lookout. But now that I think of it, I see an older fellow that is always coming up on new bikes"

😂😂 I might do this if I get bored enough lol

Hard to make out but it's WG4001702

Appreciate your support. Was getting a vibe from others that I was the bad guy here. I filed a police report for this Raleigh and a yellow single speed Schwinn of mine as well. And I searched other ways on bikeindex and found only my stolen Raleigh on there.

Apologies Andy,
It's easy to misinterpret through text