Two visitors to Ucluelet vandalized the local laundromat by painting uninspired graffiti on its inside walls overnight between August 8-9.
Const. Marcel Midlane told the Westerly News one of the two male visitors turned himself into the RCMP after surveillance photos were posted online.
“One person has left town, the other has been identified and turned themselves into us; they will be taking responsibility for the vandalism,” Midlane said.
“They’re being held responsible and accountable for what they did and they will be either participating in cleaning it or held liable for the cost of cleaning the damages up.”
He said police received numerous reports from locals who spotted the suspects in town and recognized them from the surveillance photographs.
“That was great,” he said. “People are really looking out for other people and the businesses.”
Midlane said most of the Ukee detachment’s vandalism files occur during the summer and locals are rarely involved.
“The majority of things that happen like this are not local people. A lot of this stuff happens when people come into town, the freeloader types, and they’re here to take advantage of things,” he said.
“It’s people who are transient types who are here to stay for a little while...They camp in the bush a lot of the time. I don’t want to generalize that, but that’s what we see a lot.”
He said anyone who sees anything suspicious should immediately contact the police.
“People look out for each other and that’s great,” he said. “We always encourage people to call us.”