6-Year-Old’s Thief-Shaming Yard Sign Helped Police Recover Stolen Bike
-- After Rob Thompson’s custom road bikes worth thousands of dollars were stolen from his garage in Portland, Oregon, he filed a police report and put up several fliers in the neighborhood.
His 6-year-old daughter, Roxy, was no less upset and decided to give the thief a piece of her mind.
“It hurt my feelings that my dad was so angry and sad,” Roxy told ABC affiliate KATU-TV in Portland.
Thompson told KATU that Roxy first “offered to give me her life savings; that was a heart-melter.”
But then Roxy came up with a better idea. She used her savings in the piggy bank to draw up a thief-shaming sign. “She wants to let the world know it’s not cool,” Thompson said.
"Shame on you bike thieves!!! Your mom would be so disappointed," Roxy wrote.
"Sincerely. Resident 6 yr old.”
In addition to a few words of advice, Roxy also drew a sad face representing her dad and a broken heart next to it.
“I want to tell all the people who steal things that it’s a bad idea to steal things,” Roxy told KATU. “Why do they even make villains in the world?”
The sign got a lot of attention, and a local resident who spotted a bike identical to Rob Thompson’s informed the police. Police traced the bike to a person who said he bought it off the street for $50.
The bike was eventually hand-delivered to Roxy by the Portland Police Bureau. Several others are still missing.
"Six year olds can do amazing things. She [Roxy] was thrilled,” Sgt. Pete Simpson told KATU.
“It’s empowering for her and she knows people do care and police were working hard to help.”
