The Ford F-350 pickup was once again the object of thieves' desires this past weekend.
According to police, three of the trucks were targeted in Prince George with two sustaining damage and one was successfully pinched.
The first incident was discovered just past midnight on Sunday in the parking lot of the Treasure Cove Casino. Someone parked their F-350 at about 9 p.m. Saturday night and upon return to the vehicle a little more than three hours later, discovered the attempt.
"The lock had been damaged to gain entry and the ignition had been punched in an attempt to get it started," said Prince George RCMP spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass. The vehicle was not taken.
Then a pair of F-350s were parked at about 10 a.m. Sunday not far from the Foothills Landfill Site while drivers went snowmobiling only to discover thieves had taken one and damaged the other.
The stolen pickup is described as a 2007 white Ford F-350 bearing BC license plate DC5221. The damaged pickup was a 2006 grey Ford F-350. The door lock was punched, the ignition damaged and the cab had been ransacked.
The Citizen reported in 2007 that the Ford F-350 was stolen more than three times more frequently in P.G. than the next three vehicle models combined.
"They are easy to steal; that's coming right from the criminals' mouth," said Prince George RCMP Const. Ryan Arnold, leader of the city's BAIT Car program at the time.
"A number of suspects known to police target this model of vehicle to steal and then use it in other property crimes throughout northern B.C." said Prince George RCMP Crime Reduction Unit's Sgt. Darren Oelke.
Douglass said F-350s manufactured after 2007 are not as popular, but crooks still favour older-model versions.
"Thieves have told us they prefer certain vehicles because they know how to steal them but also, believe it or not, because of how they drive for the thieves' purposes," Douglass said.
"Invest in at least one anti-theft device, particularly a passive immobilizer," said Douglass.
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