Armando Basile’s Facebook page.

A 72-year-old man from Germany who was attempting to cycle around the world for his seventh time, is headed home early after his bicycle was stolen from a Crescent City gas station yesterday.

Crescent City Police Department officer Gene Votruba told the Outpost that police were able to recover Italian national Armando Basile’s bike thanks to information shared on the department’s Facebook page. However, enough crucial gear was missing from the bike that he still has to return to Germany and regroup.

“He has to fly home,” Votruba said. “But I heard he made arrangements with a local business owner to store his bicycle here and hopefully [return to Crescent City] this summer to continue his trip.”

The man’s bicycle was reportedly stolen at 5:30 a.m. while he was inside the Chevron station at the intersection of Highway 101 and Elk Valley Road. Votruba said Basile had just arrived in Crescent City from Eureka, and stopped inside to rest and write in his journal when the suspect made off with his bike and all the travel gear attached to it.

Votruba said the suspect later solicited a Crescent City man to buy the bike, and left it at the man’s house while he got together enough cash to buy it. But when the man learned about the theft on Facebook, he contacted police.

“The bike was actually taken to the person’s home and left there,” Votruba said. “Then his cousin showed him the Facebook post.”

The suspect is still at large, but was seen stealing the bike on a gas station surveillance camera. The man is described as wearing a red jacket with a red-billed hat underneath the hood and black pants.

If found, Votruba says the suspect could be charged with grand theft and possession of stolen property.