Police in Greater Victoria apprehended a man in the West Shore after he stole and crashed a truck, and attempted to get away by canoe in Portage Inlet.
The man was first seen walking the concrete barriers on the Trans Canada Highway near the Old Island Highway Overpass just after 9 a.m. Thursday, according to West Shore RCMP.
Two people stopped and talked the man off the barrier but the man then stole their grey F150 truck and took off at a high rate of speed. The man crashed the truck into a telephone pole on Helmcken Road near the Trans Canada Highway.
Running away, the man then stole and launched a canoe from a nearby residence on Chancellor Avenue. Police and View Royal Fire Rescue’s marine unit found the man drifting in the Portage Inlet with no paddles. He eventually gave himself up to police and was taken into custody.
“We had a big police response in the area and ensured that our primary concern was the safety of this individual. He was stranded in the middle of Portage Inlet, inside the canoe, only wearing a T-shirt and shorts,” said Const. Alex Berube of the West Shore RCMP. “We rescued him and he was taken to hospital by BC Ambulance.”
The investigation is on going and police are asking for anyone with information to call West Shore RCMP at 250-474-2264 or report anonymously though Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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