Thieves who stole a Mission boy’s motorbike apparently had a change of heart after seeing a Facebook post about the theft.

Before the boy knew the bike was missing, it was returned to its rightful owner complete with a full tank of gas, an oil top-up, a new lock and a lengthy note of apology.

Bobby Dumaresq was upset when he woke up Saturday morning and discovered that the bright yellow kids’ Yamaha 80cc bike he had given his kids was missing.

“When I got it, it was broken, and then I put it into the shop and got it all fixed up for them for Christmas,” he said.

That afternoon, his girlfriend Melanie Flesher posted photos of the missing bike on a local Facebook group, asking people to keep an eye out for it.

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On Sunday morning, Flesher was walking to her car and saw that the bike had been returned. Taped to the seat was a plastic bag with a handwritten letter inside addressed to the “rightful owners.”

The letter read:

“Hello. Well we should start by saying sorry for stealing your son’s bike. Although not an excuse, me and my friend figured it would belong to some teenager who had outgrown it. When we read your Facebook post, we immediately knew we had to take it back to him. We’ve bought him a new, more secure lock as the previous one was already broken. The keys are in with the bike. For the future take the keys inside with you. I know we aren’t really in a place to give you advice but the heartbreak your son must have felt upon discovering his bike missing should never be relived. We have filled the tank and topped up the oil for him. Again we really are sorry for putting him through all this. We wish you two the best in your journeys riding and we hope you both can find it in your hearts to forgive us. Ride on little man, you deserve it!” Tweet This

The letter was signed, “Regretful teenagers who learned their lesson via restorative justice.”

Flesher said when she read the note she “started crying.”

According to Dumaresq, his eight-year-old son was with his mother on Saturday and didn’t even know the bike was gone. When he found out his bike had been stolen and returned, he was “dancing around the house,” Dumaresq said.

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Flesher had this message for the remorseful thieves.

“I’m not sure how you came to the decision [to return the bike], but you did the right thing,” she said.

Credit: Melanie Flesher/Facebook.