Fargo man looking for motorcycle, believes someone broke-in garage using 'strange' tactic

A Fargo man is devastated. He tell us his beloved motorcycle was stolen right out of his garage. It happened at an apartment complex on 30th Avenue South.

"This is just unreal, like someone knew what they were doing," says Fargo man who says his motorcycle was stolen, Rhett Halberg.

Rhett Halberg was welcomed home to an unwanted surprise. His Harley, gone. It sat right next to his roommates bike in their garage.

This isn't just any Harley. It's one that means a lot to Halberg. He tell us he saved up for a long time to get the bike.

"This is the only thing I own that has my name on it so it is really special to me," says Halberg.

What really has him scratching his head is how he believes it was stolen. You see, he says he took all the extra steps to make sure this would never happen.

"The garage was closed, it was all locked up. I didn't even have the keys in the bike, they're upstairs on a table in my apartment," says Halberg.

He thinks he has a good idea of how the culprit got inside.

"They bent this in and stuck their hand up and grabbed the lever," says Halberg.

So what's the answer? How can you prevent this from happening to you other than doing what we already know? Officers with the Fargo Police Department say unfortunately even when you do everything right, these things can still happen. But they say this is the first they're hearing of this possible break-in tactic in the area.

"We hear about people forcing through the sheetrock when they get in the garage but I’ve never heard of someone actually pushing through the garage door," says Fargo Police Public Information Officer, Jessica Schindeldecker.

That's why police urge you to be a good neighbor and always close your own garage at night. That way, a thief can’t crawl over the rafters between garages.

As for Halberg, he has taken to social media to get the word out and now he’s hoping to have what he calls, his baby, back home.

"I’m still making payments on it so it does suck that it's gone. I hope to see it again," says Halberg.

The bike is a white and blue 2018 Harley Sportster XL. Police also tell us in these cases, it's important to tell your apartment management about the thefts to get the word out to other tenants.

On top of that they say, they have seen an increase in garage burglaries. So many that police say some apartment owners are starting to fine tenants that do not close their garage doors at night.