Break-in hits Kamloops BMX Club hard

KAMLOOPS – The Kamloops BMX Club had been just getting back on its feet and now thieves have struck, stealing thousands of dollars worth of bikes and equipment Friday night.

Vice-president Ryan Messere says someone drove over the gate in the chain link fence at the BMX track on Ord Road behind the B.C. Transit bus garage overnight Friday, Oct. 9. He says they cut the welds which hold the locks to get inside the three sea cans the club uses for storage.

“They took five bikes, spare helmets, our generator, our safe, the PA system and our start box,” Messere says, adding they discovered the break-in Saturday afternoon.

Three bikes 20" Free Agent while the other two were 24" Free Agent cruisers.

Messere figures the stolen property is worth about $10,000.

“The start box is kind of a big deal. It’s not really useful to anybody unless they will be running a gate for a BMX race,” he says.

Messere says the RCMP are investigating and are trying to get access to the video recorded by cameras in the B.C. Transit yards.

He’s hoping to get the bikes and equipment back because his club doesn’t have the money to replace it.

“We’re just rebuilding the club and our ridership isn’t there. We don’t have the money coming in like some of the bigger tracks do,” he says.

Messere says the stolen bicycles are unique and specifically designed for BMX racing. One of the bikes is bright metallic green and should be easy to spot.

He’s hoping someone saw something or has information that could help the police with their investigation.

Messere says the local pawnshops are keeping their eyes out for the stolen Wacker Neuson generator.

The club has a GoFundMe webpage to raise money to help pay to replace the stolen equipment if it isn’t recovered, especially the bicycles and helmets, which were used by kids who can't afford to own their own racing equipment.

Kamloops RCMP will confirm the break-in happened, but are waiting for more information from the club before issuing a media release.

Check out the pictures of the bikes which were stolen.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 12:51 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015, to add information from the RCMP.

— This story was updated at 3:07 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015, to add photos of the stolen bikes.

— This story was updated at 9:21 a.m., Monday, Oct. 12, 2015, to add information about a funding website.

—This story was updated at 3:06 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015, to include more details from RCMP.