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Parked vehicle smashed into near Ucluelet

A group of tourists visiting the West Coast from Washington had their vehicle smashed into while they were hiking recently.

The hikers parked near Rainforest Trail in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on June 19 and returned to their vehicle around 11 a.m. to discover they had been robbed, according to Sgt. Jeff Swann of the Ucluelet RCMP.

Swann said the stolen items included two backpacks and a set of binoculars and he called the theft “a crime of opportunity” because the items had been left in plain sight.

“There was many cars in the parking lot and [the thief or thieves] picked that car. Was it because there was a whole bunch of stuff that was visible? Probably,” he said.

“It’s important if you’ve got valuables to try to keep them out of sight, unfortunately there’s criminals that travel on the road.”

 

Shoplifters caught

Two shoplifters were caught trying to steal food from the Ucluelet Co-op.

A Co-op employee ran outside to detain the would-be thieves after spotting them walk out of the store with cheese and mustard they hadn’t paid for.

The employee brought the shoplifters back into the store where they waited for police, according to Sgt. Swann.

Swann said the shoplifters, who were visiting Ucluelet from Alberta, have been identified by police and will likely face charges.

The attempted theft occurred on June 20 around 7:35 p.m.

 

Drunken man arrested at grad party

A drunken 18-year-old was arrested during Ucluelet Secondary School’s graduation celebrations at Redneck Beach.

Police stopped by the June 21 party around 1:30 a.m. to find one of the partiers had drank well beyond his limit.

 â€œA young fellow there had had too much to drink,” Swann said. “The young male was arrested for being intoxicated in a public place.”

Swann said medical treatment was not required and the intoxicated teenager, who is not believed to have been part of the graduating class, was driven home by police and handed off to his father.

Swann said outside of this one arrest, the party was incident free and he commended Ucluelet’s youth for keeping their celebratory behaviour in check

 â€œWe had no reports of vandalism...We had no interactions and no negative incidents with any of our Ucluelet kids,” Swann said. “The grad kids were just exemplary.”

 

Beachgoer crashes car

The driver of a Kia Rio lost control of their vehicle and crashed while navigating a sharp corner on their way to Swim Beach.

Police responded to the single vehicle collision around 7:30 p.m. on June 21.

Sgt. Swann said the vehicle was damaged beyond repair but the driver escaped without life-threatening injuries.

Swann said alcohol was not a factor in the crash but that the driver did receive a ticket for driving with an expired driver’s license.

 

Andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

 

 

 

 

 



Andrew Bailey

About the Author: Andrew Bailey

I arrived at the Westerly News as a reporter and photographer in January 2012.
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