COCONUT GROVE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida woman is hoping surveillance video will lead to the capture of a man who was recorded pedaling away on the bicycle she got for Christmas, one that she was planning to ride at a very special fundraiser.
The brazen bike burglary took place Tuesday afternoon in the parking garage of the Grove Forest Plaza, located along the 2900 block of Southwest 27th Avenue in Coconut Grove.
The owner of the bicycle, Alejandra Santana, spoke with 7News on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, [the thief] came in right when security went to have lunch,” she said.
The security personnel’s lunch was this crook’s all-you-can-eat buffet.
“He grabbed my bike and hopped on it and left,” said Santana.
Santana’s brand-new bike was on the back of her parked car. She said it’s more than just two wheels, because it was a Christmas gift from her boyfriend that was going to help her support a good cause.
“There was so much effort to providing this gift for me, so that I can do this cancer run, which is important for my family,” she said.
She is talking the Dolphins Challenge Cancer.
Santana said she was going to train on that bike to enter the challenge for the first time and ride it 13 miles — raising money to fight cancer with every push of the pedal.
“Now I am borrowing bicycles to train,” she said.
Because Santana now has a team that relies on her. Her entire office entered into the challenge together.
She said walking out to her car with the bike missing on the day after she got it is a terrible feeling.
“I was so heartbroken. I mean, I couldn’t even believe it,” she said. “I know it’s just a bike, right? It’s not the end, you know, but it meant so much to me.”
That’s why Santana is not letting this bike bandit get away with it.
“I noticed in the videos that he has a [tattoo] sleeve on his right arm,” she said.
In addition, her bike is hard to miss. The frame is black and white, and the tire has a brown strip around it.
Now Santana is hoping someone recognizes the man or the bike, so she can be one of the many to cycle toward kicking cancer to the curb.
She’s offering a reward of up to $1,000 for anyone with information about the bike or who the thief is.
“I would be very happy to provide this reward for anyone who would find the bike,” she said.
If you have any information on this theft or the subject’s whereabouts, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.
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