OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Reid Jolly loves showing off the pictures of his 2014 Harley Davidson Fatboy.
“It’s a lot of fun to ride. It has a unique color and stands out. It’s a cool black and sandy color, so it’s a pretty rare paint,” Jolly said.
But two weeks ago in the middle of the night, while Jolly was sound asleep, somebody stole his motorcycle. It was parked in its usual space outside the Overland Park man’s condo.
“My neighbor said he heard someone start it up. It was gone when I ran outside. It was terrible,” the worried bartender and business owner said.
He said he knew he’d never see his bike again.
“I thought by the time I report it, it would already by in another state or sold to somebody or melted down into parts,” Jolly told FOX4.
On Monday, Jolly got a surprise phone call from a buddy.
“He told me, ‘I think I just saw a bike, your bike or a bike a lot like yours, if you want to come and check it out.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m coming,’ and so I got in my Hummer and drove to 44th and State Line in Kansas City, Missouri,” Reid said.
He said he instantly saw his stolen motorcycle outside a home.
“Somebody put Alaska license plates on my bike, but I still knew that was my bike. I also saw people coming in and out of the house,” Jolly recalled.
He said a man hopped on what looked to be his motorcycle and a woman got on another one.
“I was like, ‘Should I follow them? Maybe they don’t even live there,'” Jolly said.
Jolly admits he took a risky and dangerous move. He followed the man and woman a few blocks away to a Westport gas station, and within minutes he said he came face to face with the pair.
“I couldn’t believe it! I went inside the QT, and they were buying hot dogs,” Reid said.
He followed the hot dog-buying bandits back to the house and called the cops.
“The cops were like, ‘Stop following them.’ I was like, ‘I got to do something,'” Jolly said.
Cops arrived and chased the couple.
A neighbor’s security camera caught the suspected motorcycle thieves on video hopping a backyard fence and running off. They got away.
Jolly is just glad he got his bike back.
“It was hot wired, so it won’t start, but it’s getting worked on,” he said. “It will cost me about $500.00 to repair. I just want them caught and face the appropriate charges. I was a little nervous during the six-hour ordeal because I didn’t know if they were armed. I didn’t know what was really gonna happen because I was following them. Luckily, it worked out for me,.”
