Quick thinking homeowner assists Salmon Arm RCMP in solving triple theft
By Castlegar Source
A Salmon Arm homeowner, who had witnessed thieves stealing his ATV, figured the best way to get help was to create some noise, according to RCMP Staff Sgt. Scott West.
“After seeing thieves drive away with his ATV from his yard, he ran out of his house, jumped into his car and followed the thieves honking his horn in order to draw attention, and it worked,” Scott said.
Just after midnight on Jan. 25, the Salmon Arm RCMP responded to a report of a vehicle horn repeatedly honking as the car travelled the streets on the southeast side of Salmon Arm. RCMP attended and, at Old Auto Road and 7 Ave. SE, they located the owner of an ATV who had been honking his horn to get people to call police.
“The man … pointed to a Mazda pick-up truck and utility trailer sticking out of a snowbank at the roads edge,” West said. “The man relayed to police that when he began following the suspects (2), they sped away and eventually lost control of the compact truck and trailer due to road conditions. The suspects were last seen fleeing into a wooded area after abandoning their ill-gotten booty.”
West said police did not catch the thieves.
The police investigation revealed that the quad that was stolen from the man’s yard had been loaded onto a stolen trailer which was being towed by a stolen pick-up truck. All three items had been taken from different people at separate locations around Salmon Arm.
The ATV and trailer were returned to their owners undamaged. The stolen truck did not fare so well, as a result of the would-be thieves tucking it into the snowbank.
We recommend that you lock your cars and trucks, invest in a locking device for your trailers , lock up your ATVs and keep them out of sight. Doing any or all of these things makes it harder for thieves to target you or your property, West said.
Should you have any information about these thefts please contact the Salmon Arm RCMP at 250-832-6044 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 to report information anonymously.
