Police auction off stolen and lost bikes

HOUGHTON — Looking for a great deal on a bike? Here’s where you can pick one up for a steal.

When lost or stolen bicycles are found but go unclaimed in Houghton, they end up here—at the city police department. Over the years, the bikes begin to pile up.

Houghton Police Chief John Donnelly said, ” We find abandoned bikes all over town. In the springtime, they pop up all over the place. Most of them, we presume, at one time were stolen and people don’t come in to recover him and we end up, over a couple year period, we’ll end up with 40 or 50 bikes.”

There are 57 bikes up for auction outside the Houghton Fire Station, simply pick one out and slip a bid in the bucket. Bids will be accepted until 4pm Thursday.

What happens if you see your bike that was stolen a couple of years ago?

Donnelly said, “That’s happened in the past and if we can get somebody’s bike back to them, we’re all about that. We’ve had people come in and say, ‘yeah, number 57 is our bike’ and we’re like, ‘okay, it’s your bike,’ and ask them why they didn’t report it stolen. That’s another thing—if your bike does come up missing, contact your local police department. There’s a good chance they have it.”

Money raised by the auction will go toward a physical fitness program for the police department, such as their bike patrol.