Aid Cole's Recovery from Bike Theft

This is Cole. Cole worked hard through all his high school career to pursue criminal justice. He rose to being president of those studies for both his junior and senior year. On top of that, Cole also worked two jobs. To help with that, his stepmother and I rewarded his efforts with a very snazzy electric bike that he adored and was at his side through the final two years of high school. A week ago, he graduated his criminal justice studies with multiple accolades, President of his classes for both his junior and senior year. When he returned home from school, what should have been a celebration day as he dressed for his ceremony, he came home to find out someone had violated our sanctity of a yard at our home and stole his bike in broad daylight. The thief stole the bike and rode away with it despite it not even having the battery (which was inside charging).

His bike was one of many in the area that had been stolen in a recent string of burglaries. The authorities were notified and refuse to act against the criminal suspected. We have provided them with footage of the individual stealing a different bike with bolt cutters, then the camera of the neighbor to the thief showed him arriving not 10 minutes later with the stolen property in hand.

As a parent, it is extremely frustrating to work hard to provide your children with safety and the tools needed to achieve their goals, only to be stolen by an individual who squandered their life.

We want to purchase a new bike for him, to enable him to continue commuting to work and around the city before he heads to college in the upcoming semester to pursue his career in the legal field. With just welcoming his younger sibling into the world, planning his graduation, and trying to get everything in order to send him into his new life path, we aren't able to just simply purchase it and move on. The local police have been zero help and have shown complete disinterest in actually reclaiming his property. We do not want his welcome to the legal world solely to be him becoming a victim on day one and suffering for it.

If this meets the goal, that would be amazing, but more than anything, we're just hoping that any bit that can help alleviate some of the stress will help us get him back on two wheels and cruising the world.

Thank you.