Authorities are searching for a man who is "well known to police" in connection with the theft of a large excavator bucket and work tools that were stolen on the weekend from a work site near the Ashlu River in the Upper Squamish Valley.
Squamish RCMP received a report of the thefts on Sunday (Nov. 13). At around 2 a.m., a suspect or suspects using a pick-up truck with a flatbed trailer attached made off with the items, RCMP Sgt. Wayne Pride said in a statement.
The complainant later contacted police to say that his bucket had been located at a recycling business in Burnaby later in the day. "A suspect well known to police is being sought in relation to the theft," Pride said.
'Hydraulic Ram' stolen
Local police are also investigating another theft in the Ashlu River area -this one having been reported on Monday (Nov. 14) by the operators of the Ashlu run-of-river power project. Stolen was Portapower Hydraulic Ram valued at $3,500. The theft occurred "sometime over the weekend," after someone cut a lock to a cargo container in which the unit was being stored. Police were unavailable to indicate whether they think the two above incidents may be related.
A 21-year-old man from Quebec is facing multiple charges after he was tracked down and arrested near Brackendale after police pursued him down Highway 99.
On Wednesday (Nov. 9) at around 7:45 a.m., a Squamish RCMP member conducting speed enforcement on the highway saw a grey Toyota pickup truck travellling southbound "at excessive speed" near Chance Creek. When police tried to stop him, the driver fled southbound, finally stopping his vehicle and fleeing on foot between Depot Road and Garibaldi Way, Pride said.
A police service dog was brought in and tracked the man through a wooded area. Police finally arrested the man in the 40000 block of Government Road, Pride said. It's believed the truck is the same one that was reported stolen from Whistler earlier that day. The man faces charges of theft over $5,000, fleeing from police and dangerous driving in connection with the incident.
Lockers broken into
On Thursday (Nov. 10), police received a report that multiple storage lockers had been broken into at a complex in the 1200 block of Village Green Way downtown. Someone had pried off a plate to the main back door of the storage locker building, then pried away the metal clasps that held the lockers' locks in place. Police were still waiting to hear from individual owners for information about items that were stolen, Pride said.
Wire stolen, man nabbed
A 37-year-old Squamish resident of no fixed address was arrested last week after police responding to a report of an attempt to steal copper wire found him in the area of the reported theft, in possession of "a quantity" of copper wire. The arrest occurred in the 1500 block of Scott Crescent. The investigation is ongoing, Pride said.
