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RCMP led on sedate, early morning "surveillance"

Stolen camper goes through two road blocks before stopping

Slow and steady did not win the race for the driver of a stolen motorhome that led RCMP on an early-morning chase down the Sea to Sky highway Sunday.

"It wasn’t your normal erratic wild chase," said Squamish Cpl. Dave Ritchie, about the pursuit that began shortly before midnight Saturday evening.

Whistler RCMP responded to a tip about a possible stolen recreational vehicle southbound on Highway 99 near the village and followed up after a failed attempt to pull over the RV.

"I wouldn’t call it a pursuit, more a surveillance," said Staff Sgt. Norman McPhail of Whistler-Pemberton RCMP. The RV never exceeded posted speed limits, so local police, in up to three vehicles, took a non-confrontational approach, following at a distance and calling ahead to other detachments.

Driven by a 57-year-old Alberta male, the six-year-old Ford motorhome had been stolen in Edmonton and continued to evade police, but somewhat sedately, Squamish’s Ritchie said.

"He (the driver) slowed down when we intercepted him in the road blocks, and then drove through them."

Squamish dispatched two uniformed officers at a road block and added one plain-clothed officer to the low key chase.

Two road blocks, including spike belts, set up near Squamish and West Vancouver didn’t deter the camper travelling on a flat tire. The driver finally stopped in North Vancouver and was arrested.

Ritchie said the driver, Glenn Dunning of Edmonton, has a criminal record, and was the only occupant of the vehicle. A search of the RV revealed "he didn’t find any reason not to stop other than he doesn’t like police when he’s in a stolen vehicle."

Charges, to be issued by North Vancouver RCMP, are pending.