A Mira Mesa teen went into a bookstore Thursday afternoon to work on homework over spring break, but when he came out hours later, his $500 bike was gone.
The 17-year-old student locked and parked his unique bike outside Barnes and Nobel in the Mira Mesa Market Center at around 4:50 p.m.
“He called me in tears. I think that was the worst part, is he was just so upset,” said Jessamyn Patterson, the teen’s mother.
The Mira Mesa student bought the bike himself, his mom said, and was his first big purchase.
“My 17-year-old kid slaved all summer long. He did everything from mowing lawns to working for a local catering company, picking up trash after parties to -- he babysat, dogsat and all sorts of good stuff for neighbors,” Patterson said.
The bike is a light blue Diamondback Trace Dual Sport Bike. It has “Diamondback” in neon green letters along the bottom bar. It also has blue accents in the tires.
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The teen bought the bike from Bicycle Warehouse in Carmel Mountain Ranch less than a year ago.
“It is a noticeable bike. This is something you would see when someone’s going by,” Patterson told NBC 7.
Now, Patterson is asking for the community’s help in finding the missing bike.
“I know the chances of getting this bike back are slim, but I know I want to get the message out there that this is happening, and it is so unfortunate,” she said.
Patterson took to Facebook less than an hour after the incident to try and find answers.
Patterson said she hopes this serves as a lesson to encourage others to speak out if they ever do see something wrong happening before them.
“This is something that, if in the middle of the day at a very busy shopping center, you see someone cutting a bike lock, you have to say something. You know, if you don’t want to confront the person, call the cops,” she told NBC 7. “Say something. Do the right thing. Be vocal about it.”
The shopping center did not have surveillance video outside of the bookstore.
Patterson said her son told her, “His bike was more important to him then his phone, and we all know how they’re all attached to that phone.”
“He’s a good kid, doing good things in a good place, and it was taken from him,” she said. “I know that there is so much negatively in the world, but we want to protect our kids from that as much as we can and for as long as possible.”
Mall security staff and police have no leads, though the bike has a serial number on it that could help identify and locate it, Patterson said.
