RCMP are speaking out regarding an incident in the Canim Lake area on Dec. 27 that ended with a witness slamming into the side of a stolen truck after incorrect social media reports.
The witness and his family came across their seasonal residence broken into along Canim Lake South Road near 100 Mile House, according to Staff Sgt. Svend Nielsen, who continued to describe the incident as follows:
Clear and fresh tire impressions were visible in the new snow, which he followed to another seasonal property close by, where he came across suspects loading stolen items into a grey coloured 2002 Ford F150 truck with a trailer attached. The suspect vehicle fled. The witness attempted to follow the suspects at a distance, losing sight of them quickly while attempting to contact the RCMP via satellite phone. After losing contact with the vehicle, the witness and his family headed back to their seasonal residence in their own truck. A short time later, while the witness travelled eastbound on Canim Lake South Road, a vehicle heading westbound came through a series of short curves at what was described by the witness as a high rate of speed. The witness indicated to the RCMP that this vehicle was basically sideways in the roadway, pulling a trailer with an ATV quad on it while coming around a corner.
“The witness attempted to evade the vehicle by braking hard and trying to turn out of the way”, says Nielsen in a statement. “But the witness’s vehicle slammed into the side of the other vehicle, causing damage on the driver’s side of the other vehicle and front end damage to the witness vehicle. There was essentially no way the witness could avoid the collision given the location and the reported high rate of speed involving the other vehicle”.
The witness got out of his truck and observed a person that was in the truck fleeing down a steep area towards Canim Lake. At this point, the witnesses’ mother indicated to the witness that it was the same truck that had been seen stealing property from their neighbour’s residence. The witness and his family promptly left the scene of the accident, driving about 1 km away and re-contacted RCMP advising them of this new incident.
“What is being stated out in social media is incorrect, the witness did not ram the stolen truck. Evidence that the investigating officers found at the scene support what the witness is stating”, said Nielsen, “there were clear signs of breaking in the new snow of the witness vehicle along with slide marks consistent with an out of control vehicle. The witness did the right thing once he realized what had happened and moved himself and his three family members away from the scene and called police”.
RCMP attended soon afterward, according to Nielsen, and discovered the suspect vehicle had been re-painted grey and had modified plates on it which were related to the Clinton theft. Two Police Dog Service teams attended along with multiple members and a ground search was conducted, which ultimately led to another residence where another property was discovered having been entered by the suspects. The suspects were not located at that time by RCMP. The file is still under investigation.
