The Bicycle Thief

Two of my dive friends rented bicycles in Grand Turk. Before diving, they locked up the bikes on a lamp post at the Osprey Beach Motel, only to discover later that thieves, in full daylight, had cut off the top of the lamp post and lifted off the bikes.

The guy who provided the bicycles didn't report the theft to the police but pressured the women to pay for them before leaving the island. He wanted hundreds of dollars for bicycles you can buy at Walmart for $100. Instead, they filed a police report, which led to a little "flap" between the investigating officer and the bicycle renter. It turns out he was an Osprey security guard.

One of our divers, a lawyer, reviewed the rental contract and noted that the renter was liable only if the bicycles were "lost" but not stolen. Still, the women worried that they would not be cleared to leave the island if they did not pay. But they didn't pay and left Grand Turk without a problem, amid speculation there was more to the simple theft than met the eye.