Crime Watch reader report: Someone scooted off with scooter

| Crime | Seaview | West Seattle news

This is out of the WSB inbox, from a couple in the Seaview area, who attached the photo you see above:

On July 29, our beautiful beloved new Stella scooter was stolen sometime after 12:45 AM from the front of our home in West Seattle … around the 46th and Raymond/Juneau cross streets. If you have any information please contact the police dept at 206-733-9800 or 911 case# 08-279064 it would mean the world to us. We have attached a picture of what our bike looks like and the temporary license plate is 212099. …

Also, with the rise in Scooter ownership due to increasing gas prices, we felt it would be great to let others know the potential for theft. We only had her for a short while and are crushed about it.

toomanyratsinacageakaWS July 31, 2008 (7:21 am)

Sorry this happened to you and thanks for letting us know. What is this world coming to?

CountingCoup July 31, 2008 (7:25 am)

That sucks, I hope your home owners insurance covers it… With the rising gas prices, our bikes and scooters may be our best friend. Well behind our pets that is :-)

b July 31, 2008 (7:29 am)

That’s just cruel!

Irukandji July 31, 2008 (8:14 am)

Saw two scooters, olive and orange, with hubs traded so they ‘matched.’ They were parked in the junction on California on Tuesday outside Coffee to a Tea.

Theft sucks.

Sarah July 31, 2008 (8:36 am)

Unfortunately it’s fairly easy to steal scooters. I keep mine chained to a ground anchor behind my apartment, but a determined thief with enough time could still get it :( I hope your Stella is insured; if you can’t get it back I hope you’re not discouraged from replacing it, since that’s a great scoot. By the way, if you haven’t already, post it here: http://scoot.net/stolen/ and maybe even here: http://www.modernbuddy.com. The second is aimed at Genuine Buddy owners (myself included), but there are several Seattleites that care, some who also own Stellas, and they will keep an eye out. Good luck!!

Brandon July 31, 2008 (9:10 am)

I got a copy of this flyer — passed it on to my friend who works at big people scooters in georgetown. It should be up on the wall there and they’ll call if they see it come into the shop!

Alki Res. July 31, 2008 (10:00 am)

Check Craigslist.com to see if it comes up for sale.

acemotel July 31, 2008 (12:12 pm)

Are they light enough to bring on to the front porch, if you don’t have steps? Trying to think where I could put one if I got it. I’ll keep an eye out for your olive one. What a drag.

Bikefor1 July 31, 2008 (12:15 pm)

Sarah, Anchor=great idea.

I also wondered if municipalities ever sell those big obnoxious yellow wheel boots. That would be a good way to park a scooter and lock it at one’s home.

Heck, Seattle should even get them for parking downtown. Try to move a scooter then!

Sarah July 31, 2008 (12:39 pm)

acemotel, most scooters are not light enough to easily lift on your own. Mine is 223 lbs (Genuine Buddy 150), and it’s on the smaller side. The best bet if you are considering one is scouting out an immovable object you can chain it to, investing in a heavy-duty cable lock or other chain, and buying a cover to detract from its appeal. The cover acts as a sort of invisibility cloak; people usually aren’t interested enough to come up and peek underneath. If you don’t have a place to chain it up, some people use a disk lock alarm, which attaches to the front disk brake and goes off when the scooter is moved.

rockergirl July 31, 2008 (12:47 pm)

One of my co-workers has a scooter he rides and when I mentioned your story he said he has a security key and ignition which means only his key can start it. Not sure if this is an option for your model of scooter – but something to look into if and when you get it back (hopefully).