CRIME CLIPS: Truck owner on vandal’s naughty list, dog walker discovers theft

By Michelle Croissant

It was a rather uneventful Christmas week for the Grand Forks and Midway RCMP, with only a handful of files worthy of reporting. Children in the region will be happy to hear that Santa made it back to the North Pole without incident and, according to Staff Sgt. Jim Harrison, "Rudolph didn't get run over." 

"It's actually been pretty good," said Harrison, as he skimmed the week's files. "I'm going through here and I'm not seeing a whole heck of a lot." At the same time, he adamantly affirmed that, "Oh yes," road checks will be out in full force for New Year's. "We definitely will be out there looking and we advise everybody that if you are going to party, make your arrangements for getting home safely before you go and start drinking. Then you're covered."

"Normally we don't have huge problems here,” Harrison said about the holiday season. “But again, we will be out looking for it and if anyone is foolish enough to be driving while impaired, their chances are pretty good at getting checked."

Icy road conditions ditch vehicles in same spot

At 11:20 a.m. on Dec. 22 a single vehicle collision occurred on the south end of Danshin Village Road. The Toyota Tacoma pickup truck suffered over $1000 in damages when it lost control and slid into the ditch. The 41-year-old Richmond driver reported no injuries. "Road conditions at the time of the collision were very icy," said Harrison. In recent separate incidents, three other vehicles ended up in the same part of the ditch. 

Spin, roll, collide and slide

Another single vehicle collision occurred later the same day, reported at 5:49 p.m. "Must have been an icy day," commented Harrison. Officers attended the scene and found an abandoned grey Subaru Impreza upside down in the ditch about 25 km west of Grand Forks off Hwy 3.

It appears the vehicle just finished going through a left corner up on the soft shoulder. As it exited the corner, the vehicle travelled into the left-hand lane of the three-lane highway. "Tire tracks indicate the driver overcorrected and entered into a clockwise spin into the snow bank and ditch backwards," said Harrison.

"The vehicle then appeared to have rolled over and collided into a rock bluff. This spun the vehicle on [its] roof, continuing eastbound in the snow; collided into the rock bluff again, spinning the vehicle one more time [and] coming to a rest upside down facing eastbound."

The 38-year-old Christina Lake driver was apparently wearing a seatbelt at the time and suffered no injuries. An unknown passing motorist gave him a ride and he was asleep at home when police located him. He was charged with driving to fast for road conditions.

Grinch steals outboard engine

On Christmas Day a report was received at 11:50 a.m. regarding the break and enter of a storage cabin on Santa Rosa Road in Christina Lake. An outboard engine was stolen. "I have no idea what time frame it could have happened," said Harrison, "I mean, the place could have been empty for a long time. The matter is still under investigation."

Someone was on truck vandal’s naughty list

On Dec. 27 there was a report at 11:10 a.m. of willful damage to a vehicle parked on 16th Street in Grand Forks.. A 2012 white Dodge Dakota with AB license plates. "Between 2 a.m. and 9 a.m.," said Harrison, "somebody pretty much attacked the vehicle."

Damage included a broken front grill—"possibly kicked in"—and a broken front windshield. The whole vehicle appeared to have been keyed. Damage is estimated at approximately $15K. There are no witnesses or suspects. Harrison stated, "Obviously somebody was upset with this person because we are quite sure it was targeted." No other vehicles in the area were touched. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

Compressor stolen from shed

Later that morning police received a complaint that an unlocked shed on 22nd Street in Grand Forks had been entered into sometime between 4 p.m. Dec. 26 and 8 a.m. Dec. 27. A blue compressor with a hose, valued at $150, was reported missing. There are no suspects or witnesses at this point, according to Harrison. "Neighbours didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

Roxul insulation found by dog walker

Again on Dec. 27, this time at 11:16 p.m., police received a call from a person walking his dog near 68th and 1st Street in Grand Forks. The dog walker had found several bags of Roxul insulation stashed by the Trans Canada Trail, near the shore of the Kettle River.

"Constables attended,” said Harrison, “and located 18 bags of insulation that appear to have been taken from loaded unlocked trailers in the parking lot at Roxul and moved approximately 30m to the river embankment."

Roxul security was contacted and advised of the theft. At this point there is no physical evidence and there are no suspects. "Somebody was obviously wanting some insulation and decided to move it to come and get it later," commented Harrison.

Anyone with information about last week’s thefts or any other crime is encouraged to contact local RCMP at (250) 442-8288 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

 While the Boundary Sentinel endeavors to report on any files of interest to the community, anything under the Mental Health Act cannot be published.