Eileen Caldwell got up for work at the usual time last Friday morning and pressed the remote starter to warm her car.
It was snowing and as she walked up to the car to brush the snow off, she noticed her one of the wheels was missing and the car was resting on a log. A quick check revealed someone in the night had jacked up her car and stolen all four wheels.
For Caldwell, the shock of seeing her late-model car resting on blocks in the driveway of her home on Norwood Street was too much to take.
"I was so upset, my emotions just took over, I was so shocked, just totally stunned," said Caldwell, a community support worker for AimHi. "I just got the car this summer and had my brand new winter tires put on in October."
Caldwell lives in a duplex built four years ago by Habitat for Humanity, an agency that offers homes at low cost to people who can't otherwise afford them. Her husband Louis, who died in April, was a paraplegic who worked in the neighbourhood as a licensed minister for the Prince George Street Church. Together, they used their van to take food from their own kitchen to people on street corners and give them a temporary break from the cold. They became well-known around their district for their generosity and caring natures.
"I've been active in the community in Prince George the last 20 years with the street people, we've always hosted barbecues in our yard for the community and we've always put ourselves out there for helping individuals, Caldwell said. "I know because of that exposure it's brought some vulnerability to me, being in this area. We were never intimidated, but that changed when my husband passed away. People know I'm by myself now and I'm a woman, and maybe I'm a target. This past year has definitely been a test of whether or not to stay in this area."
Two weeks after Louie died, their 10-foot by 12-foot gazebo and lawn chairs were stolen out of their yard. They had property insurance, but the $300 deductible made it not worth filing a claim.
Caldwell reported the wheel theft to the RCMP, but because it was snowing heavily that morning the tracks of the thief were covered up and the officer who called back said there was no point in having police attend the scene because the snow would have obliterated fingerprints. She was told she's not alone in having her wheels stolen and that reports of similar crimes are on the rise.
"I feel violated," Caldwell said. "I went out that afternoon and I didn't want to come home because I felt someone had invaded my safety. I've got a rental car now and I'm not sleeping very good. I wake up in the night to check my windows to see if the rental car still has its wheels on."
Caldwell says she'll have locking lug nuts put on her wheels to prevent thieves from taking them again. Although her insurance has provided a rental car until she gets her new wheels, she lost a day's wages and will also have to pay a $300 deductible fee. She's booked time off work over Christmas but now she's now not sure if she will be able to afford to travel to Duncan to spend the holidays with her son and grandchildren.
"Being a new widow, I'm dependent on myself to survive and having this happen has been a big hit to me," she said
Caldwell is hoping somebody with information about the theft will call the RCMP's Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
