Thief swipes 83-year-old woman's 66-year-old bike

[April 10, 2009]  LEWISTON, Maine (AP) -- A thief in Maine stole a 66-year-old bicycle that belonged to an 83-year-old woman. Ruth Slovenski got the blue Huffy bicycle as a gift when she was a teenager in 1943.

The bike was stolen after she left it unlocked Saturday during a visit to a nursing home in Lewiston, a southern Maine city of about 35,000 residents where Slovenski lives.

Police said Slovenski had left the bike near a mailbox. When she went back to it two hours later, the bike was gone.

The bicycle has wide fenders and a large metal basket. A nursing home security video shows a man wearing a hat and dark clothing riding off on a bike that fit that description.

Police said Slovenski told them the bike had great sentimental value.

[Associated Press]

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