Outreach leads to recovery of stolen dirt bike | Bonner County Daily Bee

River, 9, strikes a pose on his dirt bike Wednesday that was recovered after an outpour of community support when the bike was stolen at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. Courtesy of Brittany Karst

SPIRIT LAKE — What began as a series of unfortunate events for a father and son had a happy ending Wednesday.

Joe Stokes of Spirit Lake was dirt biking with his 9-year-old son River and some friends near Lewiston over the weekend when Stokes got into an accident, leaving the single father with a shattered ankle and broken wrist.

Stokes was driven by friend Brittany Karst to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, where River’s dirt bike was then stolen out of the back of Stokes’ truck in the Sacred Heart parking lot.

Karst, who created a GoFundMe to aid with Stokes’ medical bills, jumped into action to recover River’s bike.

“We instantly made flyers and posted everywhere online,” Karst told The Press. “We checked probably over 15 pawn shops too.”

Karst’s posts about the dirt bike received a flood of support, but not all were legitimate leads.

“One call asked for $250 just to give an address of where the bike was ... so that was definitely a scam,” Karst said.

But on Wednesday, Karst’s efforts paid off.

A Spokane Police officer happened upon a dirt bike that had been dumped and covered with a sheet in a library parking lot. It matched the photos the officer saw online.

“The bike isn’t running, but surprisingly it’s in one piece,” Karst said.

Karst was able to surprise River — who also happens to be her son’s best friend — with his bike Wednesday afternoon just before they went to pick up his dad from Sacred Heart.

“We are just overly blessed by the outreach we received,” Karst said.

Stokes can continue his recovery at home. The GoFundMe, “Let’s Rally for Joe and his Financial Medical Burden,” had raised $3,195 to help with medical bills.

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