A White Rock resident is warning neighbours to look out for thieves scouting residential properties after at least three high-end kayaks were stolen in the past two weeks.
“If anybody sees anyone running around with kayaks at odd hours, take their licence plate number,” said Dave Ludwar.
Ludwar contacted Peace Arch News Friday after a friend’s kayak was stolen that morning around 5 a.m. from a vehicle parked on High Street. Two weeks earlier, on June 25 or 26, a thief snapped a pair of security cables and swiped Ludwar’s own boat from his Columbia Avenue carport on the East Beach hillside. Another friend, on Hardie Avenue, also had his kayak stolen that weekend.
All three are Nimbus brand kayaks. Ludwar said replacing his 5.5-metre (18-foot) craft would cost $5,000.
“I’ve stored my kayak here for 19 years. It gets locked down with a lock at the front and a lock at the back. They came around I guess with bolt cutters and away they went,” he said.
Ludwar has scanned neighbours’ surveillance video, looked at online advertising sites and checked with pawn shops and sports equipment resellers but hasn’t found any clues.
Ludwar, who has since installed a security system on his property, said thieves also made an unsuccessful attempt to steal four fishing kayaks secured to a trailer in his driveway last month. Those boats are now being stored elsewhere.
“There has to be something going on, because this is too much of a coincidence. Three high-end boats have been stolen now in White Rock,” he said. “There’s got to be a group that’s targeting these boats, whether it’s putting them in a container and shipping them offshore, or taking them and doing something (else) with them.”
All three thefts have been reported to White Rock RCMP. So far police haven’t identified any suspects, said Const. Chantal Sears Monday.
