SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife family is pleading for the return of a mountain bike, which cost more than $1,000, after it was stolen from a teenager as he was riding with his brother.

The two brothers, aged 17 and 13, were out for a bike ride on Sunday, May 31 between 5:30 and 6 p.m., when a man driving an SUV stopped and demanded to know where the boy got his bike.

The model of bike stolen from a 17-year-old Yellowknife boy is shown here. It is a Rocky Mountain Trailhead model bike, brown and white in colour with a 16.5-inch frame. - photo courtesy of Yk Trader

Roseanne Goertzen, who asked her kids not be named, said her older son told the man the bike belonged to his sister.

Goertzen said the man pushed her older son off the bike and "just proceeded to grab the bike and drive away."

She said her son had gotten permission from his sister to use her bike, which she had spent months saving up for with a part-time job.

"The boys were pretty shocked," she said.

They went home and called the RCMP to report the incident. Goertzen said the event is upsetting because her sons were in a relatively safe area of the city and it was during daytime hours.

"They weren't doing anything wrong," she said.

Goertzen said the boys had biked the McMahon Frame Lake trail route and stopped at McDonald's for ice cream. They were at Byrne Road where it intersects with Bromley Drive when the bike theft occurred. The man was driving an SUV described as light green, a Ford Explorer or Escape and a newer model with a rooftop carrier. The man is Caucasian, looks to be in his late 20s, about six-foot-two and was unshaven at the time of the incident.

Goertzen said the bike would probably be a little too small for the man, given it was her daughter's bike and she is 5 feet 2 inches.

"(We're) just hoping that that bike will come back for my daughter," she said.

The bike is a Rocky Mountain Trailhead model bike, brown and white in colour with a 16.5-inch frame.

"I just want this guy to come forward and make it right," said Goertzen.

According to RCMP Const. Kathy Law, bike thefts are not uncommon in Yellowknife. She said the boys did the right thing in not attempting to stop the man.

"Don't try and pursue a thief or someone who is committing a crime. Try and get a good description of the surroundings," she said.

She said anyone who has had a bike stolen should report it to police.

"We have a lot being turned in," said Law, adding there are roughly 26 unreported bikes at the detachment waiting to be claimed by rightful owners. Anyone with information on the incident can contact RCMP or Crimestoppers.