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$5,000 reward offered for Galloping Goose bike rack that looks like gold panner

A Victoria resident is putting up a $5,000 reward for the return of a custom-designed bike rack that reflects the long history of gold panning in what is now the ghost town of Leechtown.
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A metal bike rack designed to look like a man panning for gold was stolen from the ghost town of Leechtown, along the Galloping Goose trail near the Sooke Potholes.

A Victoria resident is putting up a $5,000 reward for the return of a custom-designed bike rack that reflects the long history of gold panning in what is now the ghost town of Leechtown.

Last Friday, thieves stole a unique metal bike rack designed to look like a man panning for gold. It had been installed the day before — at a cost of more than $4,000 — along the Galloping Goose trail in Kapoor Regional Park. New washroom buildings and fences nearby were also vandalized.

The bike rack, washrooms and benches were installed as part of a Capital Regional District sustainable tourism project to provide nine rest areas along the Galloping Goose and Lochside trails, funded by TD Bank.

The structure was also to be a key fixture in next year’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of gold being discovered at Leechtown, said Patrick Lydon of the Vancouver Island Placer Miners Association.

Lydon is offering a $5,000 reward for anyone who provides information leading to the return of the bicycle rack and the successful prosecution of the thieves.

“Everyone is outraged by this behaviour and we need to get the public involved and appeal to them to come forward,” Lydon said. “I’m afraid the trail is going to go cold.”

The July 1864 gold discovery at Leechtown brought thousands of miners to the area, sparking a population boom and rapid economic growth.

At its peak, Leechtown and neighbouring Boulder City had more than 1,000 mines and 4,000 people. The gold rush was short-lived, however, tapering out within a year.

Sooke RCMP has been alerted to the theft. Anyone with information can send tips to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).