Former City Councilman Hopes For Return Of Stolen Harley, Wife's Ashes
By Jeff Todd
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4)- A Colorado Springs man is hoping people can help find his stolen Harley, and more importantly, the container with his wife's ashes inside that was part of the bike.
"What I really want is my wife back," said Tom Gallagher.
He had left his 1972 Harley Davidson Electra Glide at a friend's house on West Vermijo Avenue because they were working on it. Then in the middle of the week the friend called to let Gallagher know the bike was gone.
"I was crushed, because my wife is in it," Gallagher said. "My wife was the bravest, strongest, 99-pound soaking wet, five foot nothing individual to walk the plant, she had to be to put up with (me)."
Tom's wife, Laurie, died in 2014. He came up with the idea to keep her ashes on his bike. It took years to weld out a segment of the gas tank so he could put the ashes onto the bike.
"I thank her when I get off of it. I say, 'Hi baby' when I get on it," Gallagher said. "She was the love of my life. We had a great 30-year run, I wish I had more."
Gallagher says the bike is very unique, with five headlights and a custom paint job.
"The paint job is black with like 20 layers of clear and pearl and metallic flake so depending on how the sun hits it, it could be blue, purple, red. But technically it's black," he said.
He also wants people to look for the VIN number that's on nearly every part of the bike.
"2A35655H2," he recited immediately from memory.
Anyone with information should contact the Colorado Springs Police Department at (719) 444-7000.
Gallagher says he doesn't even care about the bike, he just wants Laurie's ashes.
"I just want her back," he said.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
