There's a good chance that the same thief or thieves is behind a string of village-area break-and-enters stretching back more than three weeks. Two male teenagers were seen near one break-in a few weeks ago, and a pair of females have also been suggested as culprits.
On Mar. 9, between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., a complex at the 4800 block of Spearhead was broken into. It's unknown how the thief gained entry, but it's possible that a rear door was unlocked. The items stolen include an iPad 2, an iPhone 4S and a laptop — items that have been frequently targetted in the recent rash of thefts.
On Mar. 12 at 9:35 a.m. the RCMP received a report of a break-in that likely occurred on the evening of Mar. 9 or the morning of Mar. 10, when the owner found her bag missing. The bag contained a red Canon camera, a green Mark Jacobs purse, a Louis Vuitton wallet, sunglasses and various credit cards.
The police fingerprinting team has attended previous break-ins and Staff Sergeant Steve LeClair said that officers have made it a priority to find suspects.
"We are taking this very seriously," he said. "We're following up with cell phones and credit cards, to see if there were any numbers called, and we're looking for any security footage if the credit cards were used."
Because of the proximity of the crimes and similarities in the reports the RCMP believe the same person or persons may be responsible.
People are reminded to lock their doors and windows even when they're home, and to secure valuables out of sight. As well, residents should be on the lookout for anyone suspicious or suspicious events — like people knocking on doors looking for people, but who may be checking to see if anyone is home.
The police have no suspects at this time.
Anyone with information on any break-ins in recent weeks can call the Whistler RCMP at 604-932-3044 or leave an anonymous tip at Crime Stoppers, 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Tips that lead to an arrest can result in cash rewards.
Missing person found — passed out
A missing persons file turned into a break-and-enter call, which turned into a case of public intoxication, which eventually turned into a pat on the back for a 21-year-old man from New Westminster.
Just after 3 a.m. on Mar. 10, the RCMP got a call from a woman who said her friend was missing. He was last heard from at 2:30 a.m. when he called to tell her that he was cold and lost in the woods. He was heavily intoxicated, she believed.
The police pinged his cell phone to try to determine his location and called up a dog team to help the search.
Meanwhile the police also continued to call his cell phone. At 4:37 a.m. a man answered to say that the missing man was passed out on the floor of a bedroom on the 6200 block of Eagle Ridge Drive.
The police arrested the individual for public intoxication after the resident of the house made it very clear he didn't want to press charges or see the man arrested for breaking in. The police later released the man, now more sober and very apologetic, to the custody of the woman who called over an hour earlier.
This is the second case of an intoxicated man breaking and entering the wrong residence in the last three weeks.
Car impounded for excessive speeding
A 47-year-old Whistler male lost his vehicle for seven days after he was clocked doing 135km/h in an 80km/h zone.
Police in an unmarked car were doing speed checks around 3 p.m. on March 10 at Brandywine provincial park when they observed the southbound vehicle drive by in the passing lane at a high rate of speed. They followed and using a radar detector found the driver to be going 55km/h over the posted speed limit — and 15km/h above the limit where the province's new excessive speeding laws kick in, allowing police to impound vehicles for up to seven days.
The driver is on the hook for a fine of at least $368, plus towing and storage costs over $200. For a second offence the driver could lose his vehicle for 30 days and fines go up to $700.
