Whole town, then web, join search for missing bike
A kid’s bike being stolen isn’t exactly headline news. Unless that kid is 10-year-old Culley Larson.
This past weekend, his prized BMX bike was stolen from the garage of his family’s house in Albert Lea, Minnesota. After filing a report with the local police, Culley was despondent that nothing could be done. So he and his mum, Vicki Larson, took pen to paper and collaborated on a letter to their local newspaper, The Albert Lea Tribune.
The headline read: “Please Return My Stolen Dirtbike.” What followed was a heartfelt plea that turns an everyday petty crime into a statement on children’s rights and community responsibility.
“A kid getting their bike stolen is like a grown up getting their car stolen...I am willing to use some of my own money that I have saved as a reward to get my bike back. I know other kids get their bikes stolen. I have read it myself in the newspaper. I am hoping my letter will not only help me, but maybe help other kids also get their bikes back. I hope 10 other kids also get their bikes back. If they do we can have a celebration and call it 'get your bike back day.' It would be the best day ever!”
Monday morning, Culley’s letter was printed on the top of the paper’s opinion page. "At first you think it's an ordinary bike being stolen and then you realize this is the kid's passion— his parents take him every Wednesday about an hour from home to ride this bike in a certain area,” says the Tribune’s managing editor Tim Engstrom. “As a fellow bicyclist, I could relate to the letter.”
By Monday afternoon, the entire town of Albert Lea had joined in the cause to find Culley’s bike. “A friend put it on her Facebook and another friend called me and said I think I’m trailing the bike right now," says Vicki. "People are definitely taking it to heart. The whole village is looking for the bike.”
Next up, the world. Yesterday, I reposted Culley’s letter on Yahoo! Shine, and it’s since gained momentum across the web. Hundreds of Shine readers have shared the letter on Facebook, and major parenting sites and blogs across the web have spread the word about Culley's missing bike.
How can one kid and two missing wheels cause such a stir? “It’s not about the bike,” explains Vicki Larson. "Between you and me we could buy him another bike, but Culley said something that made me realise it's not about that." It's about standing up for something and having a voice.
“I’d rather have my bike stolen and not get a new bike, and have someone learn a lesson,” reflects Culley. “Not like a bad lesson but I hope he turns it in and knows in the future it’s better to not steal.”
It's depressing at any age when someone takes your favorite thing and it feels like there's nothing you can do about it. “This experience has helped him to communicate with adults and understand the power of the web,” says Vicki.
The feeling is mutual. Culley’s letter was a reminder for those of us bloggers who are constantly fielding adult issues that kids have problems too, and the way they deal with them can be totally inspirational.
As for Culley’s bike, his mum is confident they’ll retrieve it. “We live in a small community and there’s no one else who has a bike like that,” she says. Locals who spot it are urged to contact Albert Lea’s police department. For all of the other kids who are missing bikes in towns across America, maybe Culley’s letter will help them find theirs too.
