Georgia man reunited with stolen bike — in Aurora

It was the prohibitive cost of motorcycle theft insurance in his home state of Georgia that made Chris Ward avoid insuring his brand new bike.

So, of course, Ward’s Yamaha 600 was stolen. There were about 643 kilometres on the motorcycle when it vanished in 2008.

But a few days ago, the police officer from Milton, Ga., about 51 kilometres north of Atlanta, learned his bike had been found. It was waiting for him in Aurora, Ont., of all places, at the York Region police headquarters.

Ward received the news about his bike a few days ago while he was attending proceedings at a local courtroom. “I was so excited, really thrilled,” he said. “I couldn’t get on the phone to them fast enough.”

York police’s auto and cargo theft unit recently seized the bike during an investigation of a motorcycle theft ring. As luck would have it, because it wasn’t insured, Ward’s name came up as the owner. If he had taken out insurance and reported the bike as stolen to his insurance company, the company’s name would have appeared instead. Ward was reunited with his bike on Wednesday. There were some changes to it — it is partially painted orange and now has more than 22,530 kilometres on it — but he was elated all the same. He made the final payment on the motorcycle last month.

“In all my 10 years, and with more than 5,000 vehicles reclaimed, I have never actually met a victim, let alone handed him back a set of keys,” said Det. Sgt. Lou Malbeuf. “It’s strange (the bike) would travel so far. Who would have ever thought?”

Ward came bearing gifts for the officers who found his prized possession — Milton police patches and a key to the city.

This was given to me by our mayor after he heard the story,” he said. “It’s not much, but it’s a token of our appreciation.” With files from the Newmarket Era