Seattle Councilmember Sally Bagshaw’s bike was stolen

Being a Seattle council member did not spare Sally Bagshaw from experiencing one of the city’s more common crimes — bike theft.

Seattle woman fights off bike thief with “super wrench”

“Thank you to our police department, who came and responded yesterday; my e-bike was stolen,” Bagshaw said Monday morning during a council briefing at City Hall. “Nothing makes me madder than to have lost my e-bike. But it was broken into in a secured garage that requires a fob in two different places. So we’re looking at the tapes and seeing what we can do about finding my bike. Thank you to the police department, I really appreciated their quick response.”

Councilmember Lorena González chimed in and noted that her family has also suffered a bike theft.

“If it makes you feel any better, that happened to our household as well,” González said. “It took us two weeks, but we were able to recover my husband’s bike. So not all hope is lost there.”

According to Bagshaw’s report on the Bike Index (an online tracking system for stolen bikes), the stolen bicycle is a 2014 blue Path Plus made by IZIP. The post also notes its serial number.

Bagshaw’s post states that the bike was stolen from the Watermark Tower Garage in downtown Seattle around 1 a.m. on Sept. 12.

It was locked to a bike rack with a cable. The lock, or the secured location, didn’t stop thieves, however, who somehow accessed the garage, cut off the lock and made off with the bike. The broken lock was left at the scene.

My ebike was stolen last week, lock cut and taken out of a locked garage!!
Stolen 2014 IZIP Path Plus https://t.co/YPXaMc6lC9 Thanks for letting me know if you should see it.

— Sally Bagshaw (@sallybagshaw) September 15, 2019

The Bike Index recommends people take five actions when their bike is stolen: File a police report; register with the Bike Index; spread the word; look for the bike on the street; and watch for the bike being sold online.

Bagshaw has filed a police report, according to a Seattle Police Department spokesperson.

Bike thefts are common in Seattle. A total of 1,055 bikes were stolen in 2018. About 235 bikes were stolen in the first four months of 2019 — the most data available for the year.

Bicycles are essentially currency on the street. As Seattle Met has reported, thieves may try to turn around and sell a bike for quick cash. Or, they will take the time to strip the bike down to parts, build a new bicycle, and sell that.

According to an electric bike review website, a new 2014 IZIP Path Plus — the model of Bagshaw’s bike — cost about $2,200.

Bagshaw has lived in downtown Seattle for more than 20 years. She has served on the Seattle City Council for District 7 since 2010. She is not running for re-election this year and will step down from the dais at the end of 2019.

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