A local nonprofit is hoping you can help them find a missing ghost bike. There are nearly 40 in Bernalillo County.

“They raise awareness of the dual nature of our roadways that we have cyclists and motorists,” said Jennifer Buntz, the president of the nonprofit Duke City Wheelmen, which runs the ghost bike program.

Behind each ghost bike, there’s a story.

“We place those bikes as requested by a friend or family member after a cyclist has died on the road,” Buntz said.

Each bike has a name on the frame, along with a birth year and the year the person died.

“It’s a very meaningful thing for family and friends to have a ghost bike placed and it’s a small step on the road to healing from the tragedy,” Buntz said.

But Buntz says one of those ghost bikes has disappeared, and she doesn’t know which one — or where it is.

“We cannot figure out which site it might have been stolen from, so we need help,” she said. “We need help identifying that location.”

The mystery began last week. She got a call from a man reporting that a homeless person was carrying a ghost bike on Rio Grande near Paseo.

“It had some of the hardware we use, it had no tires,” Buntz said. “A white bike with no tires and looked a lot like a ghost bike.”

The caller said they got the homeless person to put it down, and told Buntz where it was. But when she got there to transport it, it was gone.

“We don’t know if that same person came back or somebody else,” she said.

Buntz said sometimes people steal the bikes, thinking they’re rideable.

“They don’t have any parts except the bare minimum to keep it looking like a bicycle,” she said. “There’s no brakes, there’s no gears, there’s no tires.”

No Buntz is on a mission to find that bike, for the loved ones of the person it stands for.

The caller wasn’t able to see the name on the frame, but Buntz hopes the community can help. If you see one in a spot you know it doesn’t belong, or if you notice one missing from your daily route — she wants you to give her a call at 505-306-1443.

She’s hoping to get the bicycle replaced as soon as possible for the victim and their family.