PG truck thieves dodge RCMP, ditch boat, hide in tree

A truck, a boat, three jurisdictions and a tree later – and two Prince George vehicle thieves are in custody.

According to a release, on Dec. 12th at around 2pm, RCMP attempted to stop a white Ford truck towing a boat along Hwy 16 east near McBride. The truck sped away from Mcbride officers, who then called Valemount RCMP to assist them at the the junction of Hwy 16 and Hwy 5, but the truck sped away from them as well.

Just under an hour after the first evasion, patrolling officers located the boat and trailer dumped in the middle of Hwy 5 just south of Valemount, where police confirmed the truck had been stolen from Calgary and the boat stolen from Grand Prairie, Alberta.

Central Interior Traffic Services, RCMP Air Services, Kamloops and Prince George K-9 units, and the Clearwater RCMP converged and patrolled Hwy 5 northeast of Clearwater to find the men.

The suspect truck was spotted by police heading south on Hwy 5 past Blue River towards Clearwater.

The Clearwater RCMP used a spike belt to try and disable the vehicle. The stolen truck was slowed, however, the driver continued to drive on bare rims and was seen eventually coming to a stop on Hwy 5 at Hoirup Rd North in the Vavenby area.

Two males fled from the vehicle on foot. Police closed the highway and K-9 units were deployed to search for them.

By 6:00pm, one of the suspects, a 29 year old from Prince George, was taken into custody.

Police continued to search for the second suspect until dark, but couldn’t find him until the next morning, when a Clearwater resident called to report a prowler on their property.

The prowler, a 32 year-old man from Prince George, was hiding up a tree on the property when police dogs discovered him and circled the bottom of the tree. Once found, police arrested the man and took him into custody.

Police have not released the names of the suspects.

“The investigation is ongoing and spans multiple jurisdictions, both suspects are facing a multitude of charges including possession of stolen property and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle,” stated Cpl Dan Moskaluk.

“Given the speeds and erratic driving displayed by the suspects, in a stolen truck towing a stolen boat from the Alberta Border into BC, this incident could have had a very different and potentially tragic outcome. As it was, due to a professional and measured response by all involved the outcome was instead a positive and successful one with some learning opportunities gained as well,” said Sgt Gord Simpson of the Clearwater RCMP.

The Clearwater RCMP are seeking the public’s assistance and ask that anyone having any information associated to this matter, or possibly having dash cam footage of the truck involved (White Ford F450 truck with Alberta licence BBY0780) is asked to contact the McBride RCMP 250-569-2255 or Clearwater RCMP 250-674-2237.