DENVER — If your bicycle has been stolen before, you know it is rare to recover it. But Jonathan Barnwell's story took an unexpected turn when he was reunited with his stolen mountain bike.
Barnwell's bike was taken from his garage last September while he briefly turned his back.
“For about 10 seconds, I turned my back on the garage,” Barnwell remembered. "In that 10 seconds, it was gone."
This wasn't the first time Barnwell had experienced bike theft. The first time, he never recovered the bike. So this time, he had little hope of recovery for this one.
"Zero hope. I’ve never heard of anyone having a bike stolen and having it recovered,” he said.
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Weeks after the recent theft, the Denver Police Department (DPD) ended up recovering Barnwell’s bike, but kept it in storage because he had reported the wrong serial number on his police report. DPD has an average of 300 bikes at any given time that are unable to be linked to an owner. This common issue arises because many bicycles are not registered, and owners often forget or misreport serial numbers.
“It’s very difficult. Most bicycles are not registered in any type of registry program,” said DPD Sgt. Barry Fambrough.
Before auctioning off unclaimed bikes, DPD makes one last effort to find their owners by checking serial numbers with the 529 Garage Program. Fambrough ran the serial number of Barnwell’s stolen bike through the program, which came back registered to him.
To his surprise, Barnwell is now back in possession of the bike and is urging fellow cyclists to take preventative measures.
"There's nothing that's 100%, but I think the more little things you can do, hopefully those add up,” he said.
His advice for other cyclists is straightforward: “Lock it up, lock it up.”
The 529 Garage app simplifies the process of registering bicycles. To use it, cyclists enter their bike’s serial number and personal information. Once registered, users can pick up identifying stickers from their local police station, which can assist in recovery and potentially deter thieves.
Denver7 covered 529 Garage when it first launched in May 2023. It replaced Denver’s then-10-year-old registration database.
In the video below, hear from city leaders in 2023 about how 529 Garage would become an incredibly useful tool, how the app can work to recover your bike if it's stolen and the latest data trends.
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Read and watch more stories about bicycling around Colorado on the On Two Wheels section page. If you’re a rider in Denver or anywhere in Colorado and have something On Two Wheels should check out or someone in the cycling community to highlight, email at on2wheels@denver7.com.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.
