Residents Report Theft of Mopeds

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX -- A rash of Moped thefts has apparently hit the city’s South side.

KXAN-TV reports several residents have called police to report thefts of their small motorcycles. One resident in the Travis Heights neighborhood had his two-wheeler stolen just last week.

“I parked my bike behind my vehicle here so it was out of sight from the street,” the resident told a television reporter. The next morning it was gone, three days before his friend’s Moped was taken less than a mile away.

Police say it takes mere seconds for a professional thief to make off with a Moped.

While exact crime figures on Moped thefts aren’t available, anecdotal evidence suggests the trend is on the rise. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office reports three motorized scooter thefts since June, another two logged in nearby Round Rock.

Law enforcement officials suggest ways to safeguard such vehicles: Attaching a GPS tracker to it; using a solid-boot or metal bar style of lock instead of a u-lock; and bringing the vehicles indoors when not in use.