The ATM stolen from a Lake Country pub and the van used in an apparent theft have been found, but police are still on the lookout for the suspects.
Kelowna RCMP said officers located the van and the machine in the 6700-block of Postill Lake Road in Kelowna at approximately 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 8, about 16 hours after the ATM was allegedly stolen.
Kane Blake and another Okanagan Forest Task Force volunteer were in the area, looking for illegal dumpsites to clean up, when they came across the white van, with an ATM beside it.
“It was actually just sitting there idling. The wipers were on, so we drove slowly past,” Blake said.
“Me and my partner didn’t want to stop because we didn’t know if somebody was there, if they were coming back or what, so we parked a little way down the road and watched it.”
He said after confirming it was the same vehicle – and ATM – the RCMP were looking for, he phoned it in.
The van was later identified as stolen from the Salmon Arm area.
“This isn’t the first time we came across a vehicle dumped or abandoned,” he said.
“But this is the first time we’ve come across one with an ATM beside it.”
Police searched the area, but the suspects were not found. The RCMP seized the van for investigation.
The investigation into the break and enter is still ongoing and no arrests have been made at this time.
Blake said he was happy that the group’s cleanup efforts have helped not just the backcountry, but an active investigation as well.
“It was quite the night. We come across abandoned and stolen vehicles all the time in the bush. We report those as well when we find them, but not very often that we find one in an active situation like this one.”
Please forward any information on this ongoing investigation to Lake Country RCMP or remain anonymous by reporting it to Crime Stoppers.
READ: Lake Country RCMP investigating ATM theft
