SEATTLE — When "Chris," an avid Seattle cyclist, saw two men rolling expensive-looking, new bikes from a homeless encampment to a Fremont bus stop, he became very suspicious.
"I've had a bike stolen myself," he said. "My wife's had a bike stolen, it's something that really affects this city."
Chris said the men, who appeared to be homeless, met two women who hung the new bikes on a metro bus rack. He said three in the group boarded the bus, leaving one man behind.
Chris says he watched as the man searched dumpsters on the walk back to his tent, which is a few feet away from the Burke Gilman Trail, where thousands of cyclists roll by in a blur around the clock.
"Those bikes were stolen," he theorized. "They were probably taken locally somewhere near here in the neighborhood, and they were put on a bus to be transported probably to a chop shop."
Michaud told KIRO-7 what Chris saw is familiar to police, because it fits a growing criminal trend.
From Portland to Olympia to Seattle, stolen bicycle chop shops have been discovered in encampments and on transient trails on a consistent basis, according to police.
Last year, Olympia police found hundreds of stolen bikes when they raided one camp. Many of the intact bikes had been re-assembled with parts of other stolen bikes.
"It's not organized, but it is a crime of opportunity," Michaud said. "They see a chance, they steal a bike, and they know someone who will buy it."
Chris, who posted a map on Reddit showing the location of the encampment, says catching the thieves would be good for everyone--including the homeless.
"The (thieves) are probably the same people that are preying on other homeless who are most vulnerable," He said. "I'd like to see police go after those people first."