GPS tracker leads to the find: e-bike in Magdeburg returned after theft

Early on the morning of 17 July, a bicycle thief takes off with Tanja K’s* e-bike. It later turns out that her e-bike’s motion sensor alarm is disabled. This gives the thief a head start. However, it doesn’t stop the Bike Hunters from IT’S MY BIKE from being hot on the trail of the thief not much later.

On Wednesday, 17 July 2024, Tanja K’s* day begins in the usual way. Early in the morning, she cycles to work on her e-bike to Hermann-Bruse-Platz in Magdeburg. She locks her bike – with two locks and right where she can see it – outside the window of her office.

All the same, her bike suddenly disappears without trace just before 6 a.m. She quickly notices through the window that the bike has gone. Later on, she suspects that the thief probably just carried her e-bike away.

Thanks to the built-in GPS tracker from IT’S MY BIKE, she can track her bicycle’s location in the app. However, at the time of the theft she hadn’t enabled the motion sensor alarm, giving the thief a bit of a head start. She immediately reports the case to the police and also in the IT’S MY BIKE app. The Bike Hunter Team respond straight away and get in contact with Tanja K. and the bicycle department of the Magdeburg police force.

Geolocation of the e-bike reveals that the thief moved just a few streets further north and came to a stop near a block of apartments at 06:10 already.

An investigative police team drives to the address in question to check the situation on site. With the caretaker’s help, they search entrances and cellars. Finally, at 10:50 the e-bike turns up in front of one of the blocks. Patrol officers are informed, and bring the bicycle to the police station to secure evidence. Tanja K. is overjoyed.

She then takes her e-bike to the bicycle dealer Feine Räder in Magdeburg, who installed the IT’S MY BIKE tracker for her, to check it for possible damage. “We found out about the theft from the customer herself. It was the first time that we’ve experienced something like that. And it all went relatively fast – it was found again on the same day. What can you say to that?”, says bike retailer Jann Erik Lehmann.

After thoroughly inspecting the e-bike, Lehmann is able to reassure the customer. “The mudguard is broken and the screw fastening the saddle was missing. Luckily nothing serious,” says Lehmann.

*Name changed

Stock image: Adobe Stock

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