This one played out last Friday. Unusual situation in that the victim got the scent of her stolen bike and did everything possible to get it back, making excellent decisions along the way (although I'm not thrilled about the "reward money.") Let me know if anything is missing from the story for you.

CSBR listing:

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/node/194464

Seller's account as posted to Facebook:

Score one for [us]! A few hours after the bikes were stolen, the Rockhopper was listed on Craigslist. We tried to contact them, posing as buyers, but the listing was quickly taken down. After searching craigslist for other numbers and listings associated with the seller, we got a name and address for where the bike was being held. The police got involved and I bought a prepaid phone to try and set up a sting for today(ooooo!). But late last night, the bike was reposted at an address in Lemont. One of our friends made contact and arranged a meeting time for this morning. [Grandma] came to watch the kids ([hubby] is out of town) and my step dad agreed to meet me there for moral support and extra muscle. When we met up, this second seller seemed very nice and was obviously not the thief. I explained that the bike was stolen, showed him the serial number and police report and told him he had two choices: Give me the bike back and have better luck next time or call the police and they could give me the bike back, have better luck next time and be late for work. He chose the former. I gave him the reward money and drove away with his wife chasing me down the driveway cursing and giving me the finger. The police will continue to be involved and hope to track down the other two bikes with this new evidence and information. Not bad for a morning's work. I feel like Cagney, Lacey, Pee Wee Herman and Walter White all rolled into one.

Initial Craigslist posting:

Second listing: