**Correction: The original version of this story indicated the motorcycle was stolen from a garage in Inglewood. The motorcycle was stolen from a parkade in the northeast communtiy of Skyview Ranch**
A surveillance camera in the parking garage of a northeast condominium building captured the theft of a motorcycle and the thieves driving off with the bike hanging out of the back of a van.
In the early evening hours of October 17, 2018, a woman appeared to open the door to the parking lot of a residential building in Skyview Ranch for a van without plates. Three men exited the van, approached a parked 2011 Harley Davidson Wide Glide with limited edition orange paint and proceeded to roll it up a ramp into the van. The thieves entered the van and drove off with the ill-gotten bike protruding from the back of the vehicle.
Adam Martin, the rightful owner of the motorcycle who has had the bike for less than a year, was upstairs in his condo at the time of the theft and didn’t realize the bike had been swiped until the following morning.
“It was heart wrenching,” said Martin. “The bike was my pride and joy and I worked pretty hard to get it. Thankfully it’s insured.”
Martin does not recognize the woman who opened the door to the parkade and is not sure how she gained access to the building.
“Obviously people are targeting these secure underground garages lately and we’re seeing a lot of bikes getting stolen out of them,” said Martin. “I just want people to be careful. Maybe put an extra lock on their bike. These thieves are looking for a quick grab and sometimes a disc lock or a chain or something on your bike is just enough to secure it so they won’t take it.”
Martin says he’s recently learned of other theft attempts in the parking lot. “A couple months ago, (there was) another bike and somebody tried to steal it but couldn’t make it up the ramp out of our garage and just dumped it on the ramp and took off.”
Acting Sergeant Craig Stothard of the Calgary Police Service says parking garages are being targeted throughout the city. “Some parkades can be easy to break in to,” explained Stothard. “They’ll get individuals to wait in the shadows until people drive in, not noticing, not doing anything wrong.”
“The majority of the offences occur between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. but there’s no real pattern of offences or times. They’ll choose whenever they need to commit the offence.”
The motorcycle owner is hopeful he’ll be reunited with his bike but believes it was probably stripped for parts. “I like to try and be a little bit realistic and say chances are it was probably in a million pieces by the time I woke up.”
The theft has been reported to, and surveillance video has been shared with, the Calgary Police Service. Anyone with information regarding the theft or the whereabouts of the motorcycle is asked to call the Calgary Police Service at 403-266-1234 or anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers.
With files from CTV's Brenna Rose
