Growing up our neighbors really did steal our canoe. They kept it hidden for a few months, painted it a different color, and then my dad saw it on top of their car. He just called the police and they took care of it (there was some kind of serial number on it and it had obviously been given a home paint job so not exactly an apples to apples comparison!) But anyway, neighbors in a "good" neighborhood can still be kleptos.

Anonymous wrote:I made a similar assumption once and was totally wrong. Unless your kid’s bike was a custom job, you need to get over the theft, not be suspicious of your neighbor.

But OP has not returned with an update to this story.

OP ?

I made a similar assumption once and was totally wrong. Unless your kid’s bike was a custom job, you need to get over the theft, not be suspicious of your neighbor.

Do you think your neighbors are really that dumb? Like they would seriously steal from their next door neighbor’s garage (!) and then let their kid ride around on the bike six months later? Omg some of you guys can’t reason your way out of a paper bag, please don’t accuse your neighbors of theft.

Accusing them of stealing your kids bike will not get your bike back. It will, however, get you labeled as the neighborhood crazy person that accuses people of stealing.

Op come up what's the update?

If you are even remotely friendly with this family, don't do it.

Mentioned a stolen bike and skirting around an accusation will 100% ruin that relationship.

Especially when they most certainly did not steal it out of your garage. Perhaps, as another PP suggested, they bought it off FB marketplace from the person that did steal it. But they did not sneak into your garage and take the bike, then wait a few months before giving it to their kid.

Tell your DH that his needs to get his head out of his A

Let it go and increase your security. You can’t rule out that they didn’t buy the same bike and color combo by coincidence. If this is the case you will seem like a lunatic if you mention it.

Anonymous wrote:Compliment him on the bike and ask where they got it because you are in the market for a new one. Hint that you are going to have your security company review footage from your security camera and hope they can track down who took it before buying a new one. Maybe it will end up on your lawn.

Kids are so much worse at lying. If he knows what his parents did, he will, at a minumum, turn beet red and not want to talk about it.

So OP, what did you do?

Compliment him on the bike and ask where they got it because you are in the market for a new one. Hint that you are going to have your security company review footage from your security camera and hope they can track down who took it before buying a new one. Maybe it will end up on your lawn.

1. Get a Ring camera or similar.
2. What do you think they did with the box? Wouldn’t you have seen it on trash day?
3. Tell them to watch out for bike thieves and maybe they will have trouble sleeping for a night or two.

But know it’s probably not your bike. Half the kids in my neighborhood have the exact same REI bike. If the bike you picked is a top Amazon search result or a top Wirecuttet recommendation, it’s not unusual they have the same bike for the same age kid.