A Seattle man dubbed “Bike Batman” after he started confronting thieves and returning stolen bicycles to their owners has spoken out publicly for the first time about his mission to “reunite people with their bikes”.

The married engineer, who is in his 30s, and has been quietly tracking down stolen bikes for the last year, spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity amid increasing curiosity about his identity, motives and methodology.

In a telephone interview, which he said was the first fully-fledged discussion with a reporter, Bike Batman requested anonymity for his safety and so he can continue to chase bike thieves without them catching on to his scheme.

He was however happy for the Guardian to publish a photograph of him riding a Dutch bicycle and wearing sunglasses after he explained the elaborate sting operations he has perfected – sometimes in cooperation with the police.

Bike Batman said he has returned a total of 22 bicycles in Seattle after he turned vigilante and started tracing thieves online in 2015. “It’s kind of fun,” he added.

The man said his nickname initially came from a discussion with a police officer who suggested he be called “Robin Hood”. Since he wasn’t exactly stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, Batman seemed a better fit.

He added that the superhero moniker and the idea of vigilante justice feels pretty silly to him and that the main reason he continues this work – which can at times be risky – is to uphold the reputation of Seattle as a friendly city.

Of the first 10 or so people he helped, most were from out of town, he said. “They were like, ‘Fuck this place, this is shitty’. And it felt really good to stand up and say this town is not that bad.”

A well-known figure in the bike community, Bike Batman has established a unique brand of vigilante justice by using Craigslist and other online marketplaces to track down stolen bikes – investigating and fighting a property crime that local law enforcement officials have long struggled to handle.



'My heart was pounding,' he said of his first confrontation with a bike thief. 'I had no idea what I was doing'

“It feels really good to be able to reunite people with their bikes,” he said. “There are people that it means so much to. This hunk of steel and paint is worth much more than the price tag.”

The cyclist, who also buys and sells bikes as a hobby, first started returning snatched bikes to their owners in spring 2015 when he stumbled on a stolen bicycle on Craigslist.

The bike, which he was considering purchasing, clearly matched one reported stolen on Bike Index, a popular website that allows users to register their bikes and post reports when they’re taken.

Once he confirmed the match, he arranged a meeting with the thief. “You’ve got two options. You can wait until a cop gets here,” Bike Batman said he told the thief. “Or you can just beat it.”

“My heart was pounding,” he said, recounting his first confrontation with a bike thief. “I had no idea what I was doing.”

After that first success, Bike Batman developed more of a formal routine.

When he sees suspicious bike ads on Craigslist and sites like OfferUp.com – posts where the seller appears to know very little about the bike or has a photo in an odd, unidentifiable location – he cross references the image with bikes reported on Bike Index.

Once he has verified it with the owner, he arranges a meet-up with the thief and will call the Seattle police department so that officers can participate in the sting. He said that, in more than half of the 22 cases in which he has retrieved and returned bikes, the culprit has been arrested.

In one case, Bike Batman even helped a family recover a wide range of prized possessions that suspects had stolen during a home burglary.

“He’s done some amazing things,” said Bryan Hance, co-founder of Bike Index.

“Our whole theory, which he’s basically proven, is that the people most likely to get bikes back are not the cops. It’s the community.”

The Bike Batman’s services are much needed in Seattle, where police received 1,561 reports of bike thefts in 2015, which is nearly double the rate from five years ago, according to the Seattle Times, which first reported on Bike Batman, who is also known as “bike repo man”.

Others in Seattle say Bike Batman is encouraging police in the city to do their job.

“If you try to get cops involved, nine times out of 10, they just aren’t available to help,” said Hance, who noted that many cycling advocates in the Bike Index’s networks across the US try and help locate thieves on behalf of victims they may not know. Bike Batman, however, is the only user Hance knows who goes a step further and meets offenders in person.

Seattle detective Patrick Michaud said he couldn’t comment on the Batman specifically, but said the department does on occasion accompany citizens on stings when theft victims have found the bike online and arranged a sale.

“They’ll set up a meet and we can go along,” he said.

In general, Michaud added, “If people want to spend their time going through internet ads trying to find stolen bikes, please help out. The more eyes the better. If you find something that you believe is stolen, give us a call. That way we can close out a case or work to get it back to the person who owns it – and make sure it’s done safely.”

People who find their stolen bikes online can also call 911, Michaud said, adding that the department prefers to conduct the operations without citizens present.

“We don’t like to put people in harm’s way.”

For cyclists mourning a lost bike, a call from the Bike Batman is a very welcome surprise. “It was so cool. My heart was just beating so happily,” said Douglas Brick, a 65-year-old Seattle resident who got his bike back via the Batman last summer. “This guy is the real deal.”

Bike Batman, however, shows no delusions of grandeur. He said he always prioritizes his safety and one time backed out of a sting when a group of suspected thieves turned up and he feared he could be jumped.

“I’m not out fighting crime and punching people,” he said, although he said it is probably advantageous that he is 6ft 4in tall. “I’m telling people: this is not yours.”

