Over a two week period, someone stole 17 mountain bikes from a storage building belonging to the Boys and Girls Club at 1013 Underwood Street in Dalton. Officials with the Boys and Girls Club told investigators that the thieves apparently only took a few bikes at a time over the two week period, so nobody noticed the bikes were missing. The bikes were purchased with donated funds for use by members of the Boys and Girls Club, and are valued at approximately $300 apiece.
Shortly after the thefts were discovered, a staff member of the Boys and Girls Club noticed someone riding one of the bikes in the neighborhood, and stopped him. He told the staffer that he bought the bike from a man standing near the storage shed for ten dollars. He returned the bike after being informed it was stolen. To date, three of the bikes have been recovered in the neighborhood. 8 black bikes, 1 light blue bike, and 5 yellow bikes are still missing.
The missing bikes have a distinct design and are easily identifiable. They are manufactured by Haro, and are only available from two retailers in the region. One of those is Bear Creek Cycles in Dalton, which sold the bikes to the Boys and Girls Club. Bear Creek told investigators that they've only sold two other Haro bicycles. The other supplier in the area is East Ridge Bike Shop in East Ridge, Tennessee.
The Boys and Girls Club is asking that anyone with the bikes to please return them to the building at 1013 Underwood Street. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Dalton Police Detective Jason Bishop at 706-278-9085, extension 214.
UPDATE (10-2-08): Thanks to a tip phoned in to Det. Bishop, the Dalton Police have recovered most of the stolen bikes. Click here for more information.
The images below are Haro bikes, identical to the ones stolen from the Boys and Girls Club (click thumbnails below for a larger version of the image).
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