Eagle-eyed motorcyclist recovers friend’s stolen dirt bike on side of New West road

A motorcyclist made in a one-in-a-million discovery while taking the scenic route that led to the recovery of his friend’s stolen dirt bike last weekend.

Liam Robertson said he decided to take his time while driving from Surrey to Vancouver on May 18, opting to travel through New Westminster on Stewardson Way while recording the journey on his helmet cam.

That’s when he spotted a familiar-looking yellow bike being pushed by two men along a path on the side of the road.

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“It had gone missing from my friend’s place a week before,” Robertson said Wednesday. “I just happened to spot it out of the corner of my eye, but I wasn’t 100 per cent sure.”

Robertson pulled over to check his friend’s Facebook posts on the theft, which made him more sure he was looking at the same bike.

“It was the same colour, and it had the same modifications and parts,” he said. “But I knew I needed to get a closer look.”

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Video posted to Roberton’s YouTube channel shows his point of view as he pulls off the road and approaches the two men as they try to push the dirt bike through a ripped chainlink fence.

“You need help?” Robertson can be heard asking, which he said was a front so he could get a closer look. The two men refuse his offer.

“By that point I was like 90, 95 per cent sure, so I called the police,” he said.

Robertson said police arrived “within minutes” while he waited out of sight from the two men.

After a brief interaction with an officer, he then watches as police handcuff the two men. One of the men was quickly released, and the other was taken into custody.

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Despite that suspect repeatedly yelling he didn’t steal the dirt bike, Robertson said police checked the vehicle identification number and confirmed it belonged to his friend.

“Most bikes that go missing are never seen again, or their parts turn up eventually,” he said. “And police don’t often seem to care, but these officers were great. They couldn’t have been better.”

Global News has reached out to New Westminster police for more information.