Two of the three postie bikes stolen from a Forster motel last week have been located thanks to a strong response from the local community.
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Inspector Nick Seddon of Manning-Great Lakes Police District said the first bike was found at around 4pm on Sunday, October 20 after a member of the community contacted police about someone riding a postie bike around Tuncurry.
Police located the bike at a Mirage Drive address and were investigating how the bike came to be in the occupant's possession.
A second bike was found by a member of the community this morning, October 22 behind the Forster Bowling Club.
It had been dumped at the location.
Mr Seddon said investigations into the thefts were continuing, with the hope of locating the third bike.
"We'd like to get all three back," he said.
"We'd like to catch the people who stole them in the first place."
For Late Mail Postie Ride coordinator Jason Turner, the news was obviously welcome.
"It's really good," he said.
"That's two out of three so hopefully we get the third one back."
Mr Turner and the 59 other participants on the annual charity ride were staying at the Golden Sands Inn on Head Street when the three bikes were stolen in the early hours of Friday morning.
Two of their support vehicles were also broken into, with the offenders taking donation tins, helmets, tools, cameras and other personal items.
Considering the riders were raising money for a charity supporting sick kids in regional and rural areas, the thefts attracted both media attention and the outrage of many in the Forster community.
Mr Turner said it was heartening to receive the support of so many good people.
"There were people who came and gave donations and said they were disappointed that the Forster community was going to be tarnished," he said.
There are a lot of good people in the community.
- Jason Turner
As the second last stop on their week-long tour, the incident didn't deter the riders or undo any of the good work they'd been able to achieve.
They returned to their hometown of Mudgee having raised a record amount of just under $209,000 for the Wings4Kidz charity.
"The rest of the trip went well," Mr Turner said.
"In six years, that's the only bad thing that's happened."
He was hopeful the third bike would turn up and the offenders would be caught.
"They're stealing from a kids charity," he said.
Anyone with information relating to the theft or the location of the third bike is urged to contact Forster Police on 6555 1299 or Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.
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