One Agassiz family is grateful for the help of their community after their truck and five-wheel trailer were stolen from their driveway in the early hours of Thursday morning.
In the past few months, Agassiz and Harrison Facebook groups have been inundated with posts about stolen vehicles and other thefts. RCMP haven’t provided any details on the crimes, but each week locals take to the internet to share stories about waking up to missing items and empty driveways.
Kim VanLochem and her family became one of those posters Friday.
Their trailer was a new purchase, something to take their three young kids camping in. It had been hitched to their truck and fully packed up with supplies, recreational gear, kayaks and paddle boards for a family camping trip to Chilliwack Lake for the weekend, when it was stolen from their driveway.
VanLochem made a plea for help on Facebook, describing the truck and trailer and providing a picture. Within hours someone had located the stolen item at the Agassiz Bottle Depot.
“One of our friends was doing recycling this morning and called [to say] they had found it,” VanLochem said, shocked at the quick response. “The town just stepped up. The amount of support, and people looking… that’s why it was found so quickly.”
| Kim VanLochem updated Facebook when the truck and trailer were discovered at the Agassiz Bottle Depot a few hours after she had posted about the theft online. VanLochem is grateful for the community support that helped the family quickly locate the stolen items. (Submitted) |
VanLochem believes the thieves were more interested in the truck than the trailer. She speculated that the stolen goods were left behind when the criminals couldn’t figure out how to unhitch the trailer from the truck.
“They left the windshield wipers running and just took off,” she said.
The family came to Agassiz three and half years ago from Squamish, and immediately loved the small town feel – a love that has been renewed by the support they experienced Friday.
“Agassiz is one of those places that is just, very unique in the sense of community that you have here,” VanLochem said. “That’s such a unique thing that you wouldn’t find in any other community. Looking out for each other and supporting [each other.]
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| The VanLochems moved to Agassiz three and a half years ago and love the small town feel. (Facebook) /td> |
It’s unfortunate that we’re seeing an increase in robberies but at the same time, this incident really inspired the community to come together and really look out for each other. It’s unique in that sense.
VanLochem said she feels as if the community has come together to say, “This is not something we want in our community and we’re going to start really keeping an eye out for each other.'”
