Surveillance video still

Two motorcycle thieves are seen stealing a bike in the parking garage at Heartland Regional Medical Center on May 22. A string of motorcycle thefts has occurred recently in St. Joseph.

Motorcyclists be warned: Thieves in St. Joseph are not afraid of carting motorcycles away in the middle of the afternoon.

The St. Joseph Police Department is looking into a string of motorcycle thefts involving usually two or three people loading parked bikes into their trucks and taking off.

Cmdr. Jim Connors of the St. Joseph Police Department said two of the most recent thefts occurred May 22 at Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, 5325 Faraon St., and May 23 at Kohl’s, 5505 N. Belt Highway. Both incidents involved the bikes being taken away in a red Dodge truck during daylight.

“(The thefts) aren’t totally original, but it’s not overly commonplace,” he said. “I think it says something about how much people pay attention.”

Mr. Connors said both bikes were properly parked and locked at the time of thefts.

“Each of the motorcycles were locked. They had done all they could,” he said. “It’s just one of the dangers of riding a motorcycle and leaving it in what basically is an open situation.”

Rob Eidmann, owner of St. Joseph Honda, 2135 S. Eighth St., said there are other precautions that can be taken such as Kryptonite locks and a satellite tracking system so the bike can be located once it’s stolen.

“There are also ways they can position the bike when they lock it that makes it difficult for thieves to roll off and steal it,” he said.

Once gone, the stolen vehicles are hard to retrieve as motorcycle thieves are more likely to find their payday in selling the parts, Mr. Eidmann said.

“They sell easily between $1,500-$2,000 or more for parting the bike out,” he said.

There’s still hope in finding the culprits. Mr. Connors said the two most recent incidents were caught on camera.

The May 22 incident at Heartland occurred at about 2 p.m. Security video showed two white men, one with a black ball cap and yellow shirt with bold, black lettering and another with a white shirt, blue jeans and a red flat-bill ball cap. No descriptions were given for the suspects at the May 23 theft at Kohl’s except that it involved a red Dodge Dakota pickup.

Mr. Connors encourages anyone with any information pertaining to the thefts to call the Tips hot line at 271-TIPS. He also urges riders to use common sense.

“If there are ways to put (the motorcycle) in a place where the general public can’t get to them, then that would be the advantageous thing to do. The next best thing to do is pay attention,” he said.

Though it comes with a hefty price tag, a tracking system that runs for about $700 is another way to ensure that the criminals get caught, given a bike equipped with the device gets stolen.

“I hope they would steal a bike with one of those on it so those idiots will finally get caught,” Mr. Eidmann said.

Andrew Gaug can be reached

at andrewgaug@npgco.com.