The Abbotsford Police got their man Monday afternoon on a logging road between Yale and Spuzzum.
James Douglas Campbell, who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for a parole violation, was found riding a bicycle at around 4 p.m. and was arrested without incident.
Const. Ian MacDonald said police tracked him to the area after releasing information earlier that day about his whereabouts.
Police reported that Campbell, 60, had been tracked to Deroche (east of Mission) last Wednesday. Police accessed banking information and obtained surveillance video of him using an ATM and buying items at a convenience store.
He was next traced to Hope, where he again used an ATM and bought items at a convenience store.
MacDonald said police were concerned because Campbell had run out of cash and could rely on others for money, transportation and accommodation.
Two plain-clothes officers then travelled to Hope, where RCMP showed Campbell’s picture to local citizens, asking if they had seen him.
MacDonald said Campbell was just minutes ahead of the officers in every location they visited, but they eventually caught up with him on the logging road.
He now faces a charge of breaching his parole.
Campbell was wanted for violating his parole conditions after failing to return home on May 27. He did not have permission to be away overnight or to leave the area.
He had been released from prison on May 11 after serving a 24-year sentence for sexual offences against three girls – ages 12, nine and seven. He abducted one of them while she was walking to school.
His criminal history also includes theft, break-and-enter, forgery and illegal possession of a firearm.
Upon his release, Campbell was living in Abbotsford with his 90-year-old wife.
“This is obviously good news from a public safety standpoint,” MacDonald said of Campbell’s arrest.
RCMP in Mission also assisted in the investigation.
