Thieves add to Jono’s misery
TOWNSVILLE teen Jono Barnes doesn’t ask for much, but he does want his bike back.
First the floods destroyed his bike, all of the furniture and many of his possessions in February last year, now thieves have struck.
Mum Laura Barnes reached out on social media this week in the hope someone will have seen the stolen bike, which was a replacement for the one destroyed last year.
She said insurance had, fortunately, covered the replacement of the bike and the contents of his room including the furniture, much of which was new.
“I’m not trying to get the violin out, but he lost everything in the floods last year and now this,” Laura said.
“We were very blessed to have insurance and they were fantastic, and there were donations too.
“He was my rock through all of that, but this has been different. It’s like, more than anything, this has hit him and it has actually taken his independence.”
Ms Barnes said the bike was taken from behind a local private school sometime between Friday and Tuesday morning.
“He was off sick on Monday and went to get his bike on Tuesday and he said ‘I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it, I left it at the back of boarding and it’s gone’,” Ms Barnes said.
“Kids need somewhere at school their bikes can be secure. Everyone’s busy at the moment with all that’s going on but there needs to be somewhere secure because there’s times you see thieves with bolt cutters and they just cut the locks off.
“Jono is really upset because this feels personal. You can’t help a flood, but someone taking your property is another thing.”
Ms Barnes said they would try everything they could to find the bike and they’ve already made a report to the school and to Policelink in the hope it might turn up.
“We’re the lucky ones. People have houses broken into, cars taken, assaults, this is just a bike,” she said. “Jono’s a strong kid, but this has really affected him. It’s just wrong.”
If you know anything about the bike, or where it might be located, you can call Laura Barnes on 0403 472 241.