Was it the Horrific Paint Job That Helped the Washington State Patrol Spot Stolen Bike?

A stolen motorcycle's shoddy paint job helps the Washington State Patrol find another dumb criminal.

Was It the Stolen Bike's Bad Paint Job That Tip-Off Washington State Patrol?

A stolen motorcycle's distinctive but bad paint job might have been key in finally returning it to the owner. The Washington State Patrol spotted the gross light aqua/green sport bike yesterday (April 2, 2025). Trooper Kelsey Harding of the Washington State Patrol shared the bizarre story about the stolen motorcycle on X. After Troopers spotted the bike, the suspect abandoned it, fled on foot, and jumped into the Nooksack River.

The suspect had bypassed the motorcycle's ignition system and had also replaced its original plate with one from a 1970s utility trailer. The bad paint job got the attention of the Trooper, which led to them noticing the suspicious stolen plate, and then they attempted a traffic stop. The bike eventually pulled over, but the suspect ran away on foot and jumped into the river. Then, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office K9 was brought in to help track down the thief.

The Rising Problem of Stolen Motorcycles in Washington and Beyond

The U.S. Bike Index is a website dedicated to tracking stolen bikes in the United States, and it recently released its 2025 report that showed new troubling statistics. According to their recent report, bike thefts have increased by 15% in the past year and there were over 18,000 bikes registered in Bike Index stolen in 2024 alone. More than two million bikes are stolen annually across the country, causing over $1.4 billion in losses.

Bike Index also showed that motorcycles are much more likely to be stolen than cars, with most (59%) thefts happening in residential areas. Also shocking, around 40% of bike thefts go completely unreported to the police, even if they have nice paint jobs.