Woman leaves $5,000 bike unattended, gets stolen

Police find bike, arrest thief

A La Crosse woman learned the hard way she needs to lock up her $5,000 customized mountain bike. 

She and her daughter had biked to Walmart on the south side of La Crosse on Friday evening, and set their the bikes on the rack on the side of the building unlocked. 

Forrest Lee-Knutson strolled by and thought the Ellsworth-brand mountain bike, which the owner had named “Truth,” would look nice in his backyard. And that’s where police found it, as they also had Lee-Knutson on tape stealing for the retail store, along with a previous warrant. 

The 21-year-old told cops the bike looked nice, wasn’t locked and he thought it would “last him awhile.”