October can be a very scary time. Images of ghosts, ghouls, and goblins can terrify and frighten us. However, this October, a new sinister force has emerged; but, unlike ghouls and ghosts, bike theft is very real. On the morning of October 4, what should’ve been a blissful Saturday turned into a nightmare for two Atwater residents. Freshman students Bill Do ’29 and Rowan Cino ’29 awoke to find their bikes missing. At around 2 p.m., Do left his dorm and looked, out of habit, to check if his bike was still in the rack just outside the dorm entrance. But his bike wasn’t there. Checking the AirTag he had hidden underneath the bike seat, he found it was last seen at 8:50 a.m. about a mile away in an empty lot at 1000 Newville Road. When asked whether his bike was locked he said, “I always lock my bike, It was a cheap lock though, might’ve been faulty.”
Investigating the AirTag’s last known location revealed no clues. There was no sign of the bike or AirTag, destroyed or otherwise. Nearby security cameras did not provide any ledes. Cino’s story is similar, as he last had his bike at around 10 p.m. Friday and, like Do, said “I’m ninety-nine percent sure I locked it.”
After waking up on Saturday, he found the bike gone with no trace of it. Notably, his bike was placed in a rack next to the Handlebar, only a few steps from where Do’s bike was stolen. The AirTag’s last known location, taken in tandem with both thefts happening at roughly the same time in the same location, implies this was not merely two coincidental incidents of less than upstanding Dickinson students looking for a free bike, but perhaps something more organized.
Both bikes had locks, and, though Atwater is by no means in the heart of campus, Atwater isn’t isolated. The responsible party would’ve had to have some way of removing the bike locks discreetly and quickly. On a Friday night, with people coming in and out of the Quads all the time, it’s likely the crimes were committed early Saturday morning when everyone was asleep. This theory would line up with Do’s AirTag’s last known location being recorded in the early morning, implying that the deed was committed sometime around 8:30 a.m. Why anyone would go through all the trouble of being out so early to snatch two bikes is a mystery. Though Do’s bike had many accessories, which could’ve made it a valuable target, Cino didn’t have any valuables on his. Additionally, plenty of bikes were left untouched and had similar cable-style locks.
At this point in the year, DPS has already received numerous reports of bike theft on campus. However, the true scale remains unknown, since not everyone reports their stolen bikes. Further investigation of the bike racks revealed a cut bike lock that did not belong to Do or Cino, but was leftover from a previous bike theft from another Atwater resident earlier in the semester. Their bike had been stolen three days after coming to campus. This theft also took place between a Friday night and a Saturday morning.
Ultimately, it is unclear who is behind these missing bikes. Could this be an organized operation, or is Atwater in particular just unlucky? Regardless, it appears it’s bike theft season. For maximum security in these terrifying times, DPS Officer Mong recommends a U-shaped metal lock instead of the cable locks which, clearly, are easily cut. It’s also a good idea to register your bike with Dickinson so it can be more easily recovered. AirTags and other tracking methods are also a good idea, but, are by no means foolproof. In the meantime, lock your bike and check it twice.
