Industrial and recreational vehicles are the centre of a spate of thefts.
In Tuesday's edition of The Citizen, it was reported that two semi-rigs were stolen and recovered within 24 hours of each other in Prince George. Police are now adding new vehicles to the list - these ones smaller. Attempts (some successful) have been made to snatch three skid-steer tractors and one snow-track quad.
The quad was taken from a private residence in the 1100 block of Kluss Road. According to Prince George RCMP spokeswoman Const. Julie Champagne, it "was stolen from a locked steel container on the residential property sometime between March 12 and 15." Although it was under lock and key, the steel container was exposed outside. "Thieves scout targets and come prepared with the proper tools," Champagne said.
One of the skid-steer thefts was from a residence on the 12000 block of Eaglecrest Road. It was removed from a workshop sometime between March 19 and 21.
Also reported March 31 was the attempted theft of a skid-steer from a business in the 1100 block of Pacific Street. According to Champagne, "The driver side window of the skid-steer was smashed out and the door lock damaged, but the ignition was not damaged or tampered with."
Thieves were back at work in the 1100 block of Pacific Street on Thursday morning, and this time they made off with their target machine.
"It appears that the business had been broken into overnight between midnight and 5 a.m. and the skid-steer stolen from a locked compound on the property," said Champagne. "There was no damage to any of the other units which may suggest that the suspect(s) had access to a key. It also appeared that the suspect(s) had some knowledge of how to operate and trouble shoot mechanical issues."
It also appeared that someone used a key to steal one of the semi-rigs reported on Tuesday.
"It appears that the group or groups have universal keys in their possession and will most likely use stolen pickups and trailers in their attempt to steal heavy equipment," Champagne said. "Heavy equipment owners are requested to ensure that their machines and/or trailers are secured and disabled."
If you have any information about these crimes, please contact the Prince George RCMP at (250)561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1(800)222-TIPS (8477), online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca, or Text-A-Tip to CRIMES using keyword "pgtips".
The stolen tractor from Eaglecrest Road is described as:
- Yellow (New paint job with 743 sticker on it)
- Early '80's BOBCAT
- Four cylinder propane engine
- Bucket welded on
The stolen tractor from Pacific Street is described as:
- Yellow
- 2011 Cat
- 277C Multi terrain Loader
- (VIN) JWF02456
The stolen All Terrain Vehicle from Kluss Road is described as:
- 2009 ATV
- Yamaha
- Grizzly
- 500 CC
- Green in color
- (VIN) JY4AJ40W49C001854
- Black snow blade on it and tracks instead of wheels
