A motorsports dealer on Vancouver Island located his stolen motorcycle and went and got it back sa国际传媒� with cameras rolling.

Dustin Hofer, owner of Pride Motorsports Inc., had a Honda CFR250R motorbike stolen from his Cobble Hill dealership and a day and a half later, with the help of his business partner and another man, had taken it back from a property in Harewood in Nanaimo.

Hofer said surveillance video showed that the theft happened at 6:10 a.m. Sunday.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e had a lot of friends whose motorcycles were stolen in this past year. Theresa国际传媒檚 a theft epidemic going on here in Victoria and the lower Island,sa国际传媒� Hofer said. sa国际传媒淪o my route was not to go to the police right away. I wanted to reach out to social media. I know the power of social media.sa国际传媒�

He offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the bike and received hundreds of tips, including from two people who claimed theysa国际传媒檇 been offered the chance to buy the motorcycle. Hofer said he set up a meeting outside a Nanaimo fast food restaurant, but the sellers didnsa国际传媒檛 show. Another tip provided a street address.

sa国际传媒淲e made a decision that we would be safe and we were going to actually go to this personsa国际传媒檚 place of residence and retrieve this motorcycle,sa国际传媒� Hofer said.

They pulled into the driveway in the 900 block of Bruce Avenue, where they spotted the bike and Hofer called the police as his business partner met and shook hands with someone on the property.

sa国际传媒淎t that point, on live video, we told them that theysa国际传媒檙e on live Facebook video and the police were on their way,sa国际传媒� Hofer said. sa国际传媒淭he look on their face was priceless. They started moving really quickly and then they started running.sa国际传媒�

The motorcycle was loaded into the back of a pickup, which was then parked to block off the driveway until police arrived.

Hofer said the recovery operation was a little nerve-racking.

sa国际传媒淥ur goal was not to have any altercations as far as violence or anything, but it was pretty tense,sa国际传媒� he said.

According to a Nanaimo RCMP press release, police verified that the motorcycle was the one taken from the business, but were unable to determine who took the bike and how long it had been on the property, so no arrests were made and charges are unlikely.

Const. Gary Osa国际传媒橞rien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, said the motorcycle owners put themselves in harmsa国际传媒檚 way by recovering their property themselves.

sa国际传媒淭his is certainly a great story but the owners should have contacted the RCMP prior to driving onto the property. This would have been the most prudent and safest means to look for their stolen bike. The bike would still have been recovered and the possibility of violence would have been minimized,sa国际传媒� he said.

The tipsters declined the cash reward, which Hofer said would be donated to Warmland House and Outreach in Duncan.

Hofer had hoped there would be some repercussions for those responsible for stealing otherssa国际传媒� possessions.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檇 like these people to get some help and whether that means hitting their bottom and getting charged with theft or stolen property, then maybe thatsa国际传媒檚 what needs to happen, but ultimately, wesa国际传媒檇 like these people to get some help and stop terrorizing the community and people who work hard for these things,sa国际传媒� he said.

editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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