Bike theft turns to dose of office kindness for Portland woman

By Lincoln Graves, KATU News Staff and KATU.com Staff Published: Mar 21, 2013 at 3:51 PM PDT Last Updated: Mar 21, 2013 at 5:37 PM PDT
Bike theft turns to dose of office kindness for Portland woman »Play Video

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Surveillance video captured someone taking off with Miranda Tompkins’ bike outside a northwest Portland law office.

The theft was especially wrenching for the Portland woman because the bike was her only mode of transportation.

But what started as a sad situation turned into a happy ending as her coworkers rallied to replace Tompkins’ bicycle.

It started when Tompkins, a receptionist at Perkins Coie law firm, said the bicycle was stolen from in front of the firm’s building. Tompkins watched video of the theft over and over in hopes of tracking down who perpetuated the crime.

“Seeing someone just come up and snatch it like it was his own was frustrating to watch,” she said. “I wanted to chase him down if I could.”

In the months since the theft, Tompkins hasn’t gotten her bicycle back. But she did get a surprise from her coworkers.

Doug Pahl, a partner at the law firm, organized an office effort to buy Tompkins a new bike.

“This is a place that supports its people and she needed some support,” Pahl said.

He sent out an email to every partner. Less than a week later, thanks to all the money collected, Tompkins had her new ride.

In fact, the law partners collected more than enough money for the bike itself, so they also bought her riding accessories, including a heavy duty bike lock.

“I felt like it meant that everyone cared about me on a more personal level than just working with me,” Tompkins said. “They knew how broken up I was over the loss of that bike and to have them replace it within less than a week made me feel like they knew me and what was important to me. And the generosity was overwhelming.”

She’s still hoping someone will recognize the bike thief.