The Canadian Tire store in the 4300 block of the Sunshine Coast Highway in Wilson Creek was targeted by thieves last week, with a large amount of merchandise stolen.
Employees arrived at work on the morning of Friday, March 3 to find that a number of storage areas had been forced open and a large amount of high-value merchandise had been stolen.
Video surveillance shows that around 1 a.m. on Friday morning, a newer dark-coloured SUV made repeated trips to the business to steal the items. A variety of items were targeted, including portable air conditioners, barbecues, patio furniture, swimming pools and tires.
The suspects transported the items to a forested area on nearby Blower Road, where they were temporarily stashed in the bush. Later that same morning, a green 1996 Ford F-150 pickup truck, with a camouflage tarp, reportedly arrived to pick up the items from the thieves’ hiding spot.
An astute citizen thought it was odd that the two males in the truck were loading air conditioners and pools into the truck, and the citizen took pictures and later notified police. Sunshine Coast RCMP located the truck in Gibsons, but there was no merchandise in the truck at the time, and the owner of the truck is not believed to be involved in the theft.
“We are still reviewing surveillance footage and looking into who was using the pickup truck that morning,” said Const. Harrison Mohr with Sunshine Coast RCMP. “If you saw a vehicle entering or exiting the Canadian Tire parking lot during the overnight hours of last Thursday night, Friday morning, or if you saw any suspicious vehicles coming or going from Blower Road on Friday morning, please call Sunshine Coast RCMP.
“We are also interested in speaking with anyone who may have seen this green Ford F150 with a camouflage tarp unloading boxes on Friday, or anyone who has information about the whereabouts of these items.”
If you have information about this crime, please call Sunshine Coast RCMP at (604) 885-2266, or Crimestoppers, at 1-800-222-TIPS.
