Scotty Woods is doing everything he can to try to get his Honda motorcycle back.
“I’m not too much worried about going back over there, knocking on the door myself just to figure it out,” he said.
It was stolen last Sunday morning right in front of his apartment building near the intersection of Patterson Avenue and Pine Grove Avenue.
“I was trying to keep hope with the situation and I asked was it towed knowing it wasn’t towed because it was legally parked,” he said. “I was trying to keep that ray of hope opened.”
The 36-year-old told NBC Chicago he hid an Apple AirTag underneath his motorcycle seat after hearing stories about carjackings and vehicle thefts in the city.
“Highly frustrating with having an AirTag on it,” he said. “It’s kinda like a gift and a curse if you will. The gift is knowing where it’s at; the curse is not having any assistance from CPD.”
According to the Find My app on his iPhone, his motorcycle is tracking to an alley in a box truck about seven miles away from Lakeview East in West Humboldt Park.
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“I actually went over there after the dispatcher told me not to go by myself,” he said. “I was kinda emotionally enraged about the whole situation and I was just hoping that I would see it in plain sight, but unfortunately I did not.”
A Chicago police spokesperson told NBC Chicago that they are advising victims to not take matters into their own hands, but instead call the nearest police district to see if an officer can help them recover the stolen item from the scene.
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“He wasn’t on the scene for two minutes,” said Woods. “I asked him if he could take me through the alley or anything of that nature just to do a safety check or assist. They denied and they said I don’t see it in plain sight that they can’t help me.”
Woods said his motorcycle is still pinging to the box truck in the alley. He knows its too dangerous to attempt a door knock on his own.
“I just want to sit over there to see if somebody opens that box truck or maybe the garage,” he said. “My hope is running out.”
Woods has already filed a claim with his insurance and said he’s not too confident he will get his motorcycle back.
“I’m pretty much wrapping my head around it,” he said. “If I can’t get my bike back from my own investigation, I’m just going to finance a new one to be honest.”
