Ahh, the state of the world.
I once assumed a bike was abandoned at a bike rack where I worked. It had been there for 2 weeks, it was in poor shape, I called to have it removed. Turns out it was a regular commuter who parked in the same spot every day. Just *looked* abandoned to me. (never mind the fact that *I* also parked my bike in the same spot every day!!!)
I was a dork.