Ankeny Store's Unique Stolen Bike Found, Man Arrested For Theft

ANKENY, IA. -- Emojis tell the story of what it was like to be Kyle Robinson over the past week after a $4,600 bicycle was stolen during the store's summer parking lot sale and ultimately recovered six days later. His mood went from "annoyed" to "pained" and finally to "pumped" in his online Facebook updates as the case of the e-bike's disappearance unfolded.

Ultimately it was one of Robinson's employees from Kyle's Bikes, 1840 S.W. White Birch Circle, who spotted someone riding the unique Vado commuter bike around Ankeny -- only about a mile from the store -- and called police.

Jeremy Russell Woods, 29, of Ankeny was arrested Wednesday on a charge of second-degree theft. He remained in the Polk County Jail on Thursday evening, according to Polk County Sheriff's Office records. Bond was set at $5,000.

The theft of the bike, which aids the commuting rider with a battery-charged motor and Bluetooth capability, came as Robinson was preparing to attend an international bike show and conference in Las Vegas. He told the tale to his social media followers on Facebook.

(For more local news, sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Ankeny Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

On Friday, Sept. 15, Robinson reported online at the end of day two in a three-day sale that he was very disappointed to have discovered the bike missing.

"All of us that work hard to make a living will understand how extremely hard it is to run/operate a small business. Thanks to the thiefs (sic) in the world it just keeps getting harder," he said in his Facebook post. He said the bike was likely one of the few of its kind in the Midwest and urged people to "keep your eyes and hearts open for us."

Friends started sharing the post and watching for the bike. In an updated post Monday, Robinson said an Ankeny Police Department detective had been assigned to the case. At that time, more than 90,000 views on his social media post, along with 900-plus shares, made him hopeful the bike would be found.

Then on Wednesday, the case was solved when a part-time employee of the bike store, Larry Smith, was driving through the community and saw the bike being ridden near a recreational trail close to Cascade Falls aquatic park.

At about the same time, Robinson said he had two Facebook notifications from people who had spotted the person riding the bike.

"Facebook was winning!" he told his social media followers, adding thanks to "our friends out there that had our back and was helping in the effort to get our bike back home!"

Photo of Larry Smith courtesy of Kyle's Bikes