It used to be that Fantasy Island had it's share of missing bikes that would be "borrowed" by a drunken neighbor or friend and returned promptly the next day, or they sat in someone's yard until a friend recognized it and returned it. It used to be that the beach cruisers, so ubiquitous on the streets of WB, were beaters that were of no value to anyone other than the owner. The recession, and the glamour of some of the newer cruisers, seems to have created a healthy black market for bikes to be taken off the island.
If you live here, you probably know someone who has had a bike stolen this year. If the cops are actually checking the pawn shops, as they claim, then it has to be assumed that the bikes are being taken out of the county to be resold, or put up for sale on the Internet. However, there was an incident earlier this summer when a stolen bike was bought from a Wilmington pawn shop and ridden on the beach until the former owner recognized it and called the police; he had reported it stolen.
Unlike the bikes, the surfboards appear to be often stolen by other local surfers. There seems to be some part of the same obsessive personality that fuels the thirst for surfing that also fuels the thirst for other people's surf boards, in some people. The surfer personality seems to lend a hand in the trend, and they enable the crimes of opportunity by stupidly leaving their boards on their porches. If you enjoy surfing, it's nice to have several different types for different kinds of waves and to share with friends; that could cost you several thousand dollars, and it is a motivator to steal them.
The bikes and surfboards that have disappeared this year, many of which have not been reported because the victims feel it is a waste of their time, is part of a trend that we would like to see end quickly. The best way to facilitate that is to remember to lock up your shit.
