Columbus businessman makes emotional plea for return of late best friend’s dirt bike

A Columbus man has made an emotional social media plea to get back a motorcycle that was stolen off his truck last weekend.

And it’s not just any dirt bike.

The 1973 Suzuki TM75 belonged to Rusty Abernathy’s best friend, Andy McCook, who died suddenly on Dec. 10, 2016 while at Abernathy’s Columbus business, Rusty’s Floor Covering. He was 57 years old.

“I bet that bike hung on the wall for more than 30 years,” Abernathy said on Tuesday.

After McCook’s death, Abernathy had the yellow dirt bike restored to its previous glory at considerable expense. But the $4,200 he spent fixing up the bike isn’t the primary concern for Abernathy.

He wants the memories back.

“He is the best friend I ever had in the world,” Abernathy said in the video that has begun to go viral.

Abernathy is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who will help him recover the bike.

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 11:34 AM with the headline "Columbus businessman makes emotional plea for return of late best friend’s dirt bike."