An Edmonton man whose motorcycle was stolen while he recovered from a car crash in hospital is hoping a three-minute long surveillance video will help crack the case.
Ed Kobialko said he broke his neck and injured his top vertebrae and ankle in a serious crash near Smoky Lake on July 27.
He was in care for close to two months. When he finally arrived home to his Granville condo on Sunday, he discovered his custom heritage Harley Davidson motorcycle had vanished from his parking garage.
“My girlfriend came out…she comes upstairs and says, ‘Your motorcycle’s gone,’ and I didn’t believe her at first,” Kobialko said.
He obtained surveillance footage from the condo board and discovered the theft in action on Aug. 11 at 5:30 a.m.
In it, thieves are seen entering the building, finding and starting the motorcycle and driving out of the garage with it.
“I was speechless. I could not believe that it happened,” Kobialko said. “I watched them break into the apartment through the main doors and I watched them go down to the parkade to actually see the motorcycle. I was blown away.”
A person on the motorcycle has visible difficulty getting the bike out of the parkade and up a ramp, falling back down it several times before riding off.
The entire operation unfolded in about 11 minutes.
Kobialko posted a play-by-play of the surveillance footage to Facebook where it has since been shared hundreds of times.
“I think they knew the bike was there…because they didn’t even sweep the parkade for anyone else,” one of the people watching the footage is heard saying.
While the theft was reported to Edmonton police on Sunday, who confirmed they were investigating, Kobialko shared the video on social media in hopes it would generate tips.
“It was a beautiful, beautiful motorcycle,” he said. “The cops think it’s pretty much gone. I’m still hanging on to hope that I get my bike back.”
So far he’s received no solid leads on who may have stolen his bike, which he estimated is worth around $25,000.
“A guy’s down and out, I’ve lost my vehicle because of a head-on collision, I’m injured in a wheelchair and then I come home after two months in a hospital to find that, it’s just brutal,” he said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Edmonton police at 780-423-4567.
Warning: This video contains graphic language.
