Wwyd? My daughter's bike is missing.

[Anonymous]

If you have verification of the serial number from your daughter's bike, you may be able to prove ownership, otherwise, you are probably out of luck.

[Anonymous]

OP, take it from a lawyer, don't ask a yes/no question unless you're prepared for a no answer. You say, "Good afternoon. That's my daughter's bike that went missing last week, I can tell from the rip in the seat she did when she was riding at the playground. See? I'm going to take it back now and will label it so it doesn't get mixed up again. Thanks!"

But since you've already engaged with the mother, you could: (1) take the bike back without asking and see if she calls you out on it; (2) knock again and say, "sorry, I know we spoke last week, but when we still couldn't find her bike I checked again and actually this one IS her bike, see the tear on the seat? She did that last summer at the playground. Just giving you a heads up I'm taking it back now, thanks!"

[Anonymous]

It seems off the Mom is covering. You should have asked how long she has had the bike? Because some other kid or person like a relative may well have taken your daughters bike to give to this kid, and the kids Mom legit thinks it belongs to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Man here - I remember being in grade school and my basketball disappeared when we were at the playground. It had my name written on it in magic marker. I walked all around the school neighborhood until I ran into some kids playing basketball at someone’s house with a ball that looked like mine. I stood around and then asked if I could play and they said sure and when they passed the ball to me I could see that someone had tried to remove my name from the ball with some kind of solvent but my name was very apparent. I said “this is my ball, who stole it from me?” A kid came up to me and said it’s his ball which meant he was the one who stole it. I put the ball on the ground and then I hit him as hard as I could and then picked up the ball and ran as fast as I could. Truly one of my finest moments as a grade schooler.

I’m sure that this is not an approach your parents would have recommended but bravo!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have verification of the serial number from your daughter's bike, you may be able to prove ownership, otherwise, you are probably out of luck.

Yeah, you're out of your luck if you're a non-confrontational pussy.

Just because the mom is covering for the bike being stolen doesn't mean the OP should just accept the bike is gone.

[Anonymous]

We sharpie everything in a hidden spot. That way if someone tries to pull this crap we can just flip it over and say "Oh look there is our last name in SHARPIE!"

We had sort of a flip scenario happen. A neighbor kid tried to tell us our daughter had taken his scooter by mistake. (That razor one with the red foam handles everyone has.) We showed him where our name was in Sharpie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Man here - I remember being in grade school and my basketball disappeared when we were at the playground. It had my name written on it in magic marker. I walked all around the school neighborhood until I ran into some kids playing basketball at someone’s house with a ball that looked like mine. I stood around and then asked if I could play and they said sure and when they passed the ball to me I could see that someone had tried to remove my name from the ball with some kind of solvent but my name was very apparent. I said “this is my ball, who stole it from me?” A kid came up to me and said it’s his ball which meant he was the one who stole it. I put the ball on the ground and then I hit him as hard as I could and then picked up the ball and ran as fast as I could. Truly one of my finest moments as a grade schooler.

I really love this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have verification of the serial number from your daughter's bike, you may be able to prove ownership, otherwise, you are probably out of luck.

Yeah, you're out of your luck if you're a non-confrontational pussy.

Just because the mom is covering for the bike being stolen doesn't mean the OP should just accept the bike is gone.

The serial # is stamped into the frame. It is about the only way to distinguish two unmodified mass-produced bikes of the same make from each other. I know what the serial # on mine is, I also know that there were about a gazillion identical bikes produced in the same factory that year. I'd have no problem checking the serial #, but, 'some kid said' isn't proof of anything.

[Anonymous]

do you know the mom? If so, what I would do is send her a text that says:

Hey X, A few of the kids in the neighborhood mentioned that my daugther's bike ended up at your house. It's the one with the rip on the seat, in red, with black handle bars. Have you seen it around? If so, would you mind returning it? We are at _____.

The mom probably got defensive of her kid. If you ask her again, in a non-threatening, non-face to face way, she might very well come clean.

[Anonymous]

This is weird. Just tell your kid to go to the neighbor and take the bike back. Do I live in the only neighborhood where bikes get shifted around constantly? I would not at all presume any malice, in fact doing so make you look psychotic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is weird. Just tell your kid to go to the neighbor and take the bike back. Do I live in the only neighborhood where bikes get shifted around constantly? I would not at all presume any malice, in fact doing so make you look psychotic.

Yes, you are in the only place in America where bicycles are 'community property' paid for and maintained by one person, but freely used by all, no permission needed. If your kids are doing this, stop them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is weird. Just tell your kid to go to the neighbor and take the bike back. Do I live in the only neighborhood where bikes get shifted around constantly? I would not at all presume any malice, in fact doing so make you look psychotic.

Yes, yes you do live in the only neighborhood where bikes get shifted around constantly.

[Anonymous]

I bet the girl lied to her mom. She probably told mom that she traded it for something, that your DD didn't want it, it was abandoned in the common area, or some sort of lie so now the mom thinks it is indeed "her" bike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Man here - I remember being in grade school and my basketball disappeared when we were at the playground. It had my name written on it in magic marker. I walked all around the school neighborhood until I ran into some kids playing basketball at someone’s house with a ball that looked like mine. I stood around and then asked if I could play and they said sure and when they passed the ball to me I could see that someone had tried to remove my name from the ball with some kind of solvent but my name was very apparent. I said “this is my ball, who stole it from me?” A kid came up to me and said it’s his ball which meant he was the one who stole it. I put the ball on the ground and then I hit him as hard as I could and then picked up the ball and ran as fast as I could. Truly one of my finest moments as a grade schooler.

Ok sure. Some people might say the greatest story ever told was the birth of the baby Jesus, but nope. It’s this.

[Anonymous]

Let it go and next time, no leaving the bikes out and etch/label it if its ever out of your house/vision.