Camden Cops Look To Reunite Stolen Bicycles With Their Owners

CAMDEN, NJ (CBS) -- Police in Camden are looking for the owners of several dozen bicycles found in the basement of a bodega in the city in October

Officers responded to a burglar alarm at the bodega on Broadway near Royden, only to find 91 bikes and some 30 electronic items in the basement.

Detectives realized they were stolen and the bodega served as a middleman for those who sold the stolen items for quick drug money and those who wanted to buy them on the cheap.

Now Captain Richard Verticelli is leading the effort to get them back in the right hands.

"If people can provide any type of documentation or maybe some pictures of them with identifying markers on the bicycles, we would return the bikes to their rightful owners," Verticelli told KYW Newsradio.

They've set up a page on their website, to view the stolen items.

No one has been charged in the thefts, most of which probably occurred within Camden County but at least one victim from Washington claimed an iPhone.

Finding the true owners of the property isn't easy.

"Nobody who owns a bike knows their serial number when they report them stolen," Sergeant Janell Simpson said. "So we did contact area police departments and it's been difficult at this time to find anyone who are the owner of the bikes."

You will need some proof of ownership to claim an item, even if it's an independent picture of the item itself.

One lesson to be learned from this...fill out the warranty card. That helps if your item is ever stolen.

Items that cannot be returned will be auctioned off at some point.