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Langford man reunited with stolen bike eight months later

Man arrested in Victoria for breaching court orders in possession of the stolen bike
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Bike reunited The West Shore RCMP and Victoria Police Department reunited Langford resident Jason McCracken with his bike nearly eight months after it was stolen. The langford man’s dream to cycle across Canada is finally back in action. See page 3 for story. (Aaron Guillen/News Staff)

A Langford man’s dream to cycle across Canada raising money for cancer research is back in action thanks to local police.

After Jason McCracken’s stepfather passed away from cancer in 2019, he wanted to bike across Canada to raise funds for cancer research. But that dream that was put on hold for nearly eight months after McCracken’s bike was stolen.

“I was happy and so surprised, I was crying,” McCracken said after getting his bike back. “It’s like a go-to friend for me. It was a favourite part of my life.”

West Shore RCMP first began investigating back in September 2019 and met with McCracken after his bike was stolen from his workplace only a few months after losing his stepfather.

“It broke my heart to find out his bicycle was stolen,” said Const. Shawn Hooper. “Jason had already been through a tough time [and] this bicycle meant a lot to him.”

Though officers kept an eye out for the bike and reviewed surveillance footage of the area, no cameras caught the theft – that is until a Victoria police officer spotted a familiar bike in April.

READ MORE: West Shore RCMP recovers stolen bike after stopping man for riding without helmet

Victoria Police Department’s Const. Jessica Moretto was on patrol when she came across a man who didn’t have a helmet or lights on. After their conversation, he was arrested for breaching several court-ordered conditions and officers seized the stolen bike he was riding.

They were able to determine it was McCracken’s because of a Canadian flag on the stem of the bike.

The suspect was arrested and Moretto and Hooper later hand-delivered the bike back to the Langford man.

“The chances of getting [a bike] back in the same condition is pretty low,” Moretto added. “I’m surprised that it’s in as good condition that it came back in. The look of joy on Jason’s face made our day … the best thing to do is give people their stuff back.”

McCracken told officers it was the first bike he’d saved enough money to buy and he wants to use it to participate in different charity events.