The Salmon Arm RCMP’s investigation into items missing from the Sturgis North Motorcycle Rally has concluded.
Sgt. Carlos Tettolowski confirmed late last week that police had received several complaints from several different complainants regarding items missing from the rally. At that time, he remarked that “there are a lot of rumours and statements being thrown around town and we are currently trying to work out which are legitimate and which are not.”
On Tuesday, however, he reported that all the property missing has been accounted for or returned. The items prompting the investigation included motorcycles and cash registers.
“The tills weren’t stolen. There was some confusion there as to where things went…, said Tettolowski. “Our investigation is concluded and all property has been returned and accounted for. I can’t say whether they were stolen or not; we found them and they are where they were supposed to be.”
Sturgis CEO Ray Sasseville and his vice-president Joan Hansen said late last week that two of Sasseville’s motorcycles on display in the indoor arena were missing. One of the bikes was the Sturgis North bike, which was being auctioned off with anything above the reserve price being donated to the B.C. Children’s Hospital.
He said the organization was very upset.
“Everyone knew it was a charity bike. To me, it’s like stealing someone’s wheelchair.”
The other missing bike, said Sasseville, was one of his personal custom Harley Davidsons.
Hansen reported that there was an attempted theft of two ATVs from the Gleneden site, but this was thwarted by Sturgis security personnel and reported to the RCMP.
When asked if they know the suspect who may have taken the items, the pair said the matter was in police hands.
“Those bikes were under lock and key inside the arena and I believe there is an alarm system. I’ll only say it had to have been someone who had a key and alarm codes and we don’t have them,” said Sasseville.
In addition, three cash registers and a Visa machine went missing from the site, although Hansen and Sasseville say there was no cash in the tills when they went missing.
Jim Sipes, caretaker for the fairgrounds, found the empty machines in one of the barns and returned them to the RCMP.
“From the way I found them, it looked like they might have been hidden by people who just didn’t know what to do with them. Maybe volunteers or something,” said Sipes.
The missing tills contributed to the organization’s delays in getting attendance figures and determinations of the event’s profits or losses.
“We don’t know the financials until all the information is back and our accountants can go through it,” said Hansen.
