Three break-and-enter suspects were arrested Sunday night after fleeing from Oceanside RCMP in a U-Haul van along a forest service road near Horne Lake.
The arrests led to the recovery of stolen property, which has since been returned to its rightful owners.
The incident began on January 12th when vigilant Horne Lake residents reported a suspicious U-Haul van believed to have been involved in a January 9th break-and-enter in the area.
When RCMP officers located the van on the Horne Lake-Cook Creek forest service road, the driver ignored police directives to stop and fled toward Cook Creek. Police deployed spike belts near the Inland Island Highway, successfully disabling the vehicle. Despite this, the van continued moving for a short distance before being abandoned.
A coordinated response involving officers from Comox Valley and Port Alberni detachments, along with a police service dog named Niro, resulted in all three suspects being tracked and apprehended after three hours in the woods.
Further investigation revealed that the location targeted in the January 9th break-and-enter had been broken into again just before the suspects fled on January 12th. The suspects had discarded stolen items from both incidents on a spur road off the forest service road.
Police recovered all the stolen property and returned it to the owners.
The suspects, two men and one woman from Nanaimo, have been released from custody and are scheduled to appear in court at a later date.
“This is another great example of alert citizens calling police to report suspicious activity in their neighbourhood,” said Sergeant Shane Worth of the Oceanside RCMP. “The call to police was instrumental in locating and arresting the break-and-enter suspects and returning stolen property to their rightful and grateful owners.”
Police are encouraging residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to help keep their communities safe.
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