Whistler RCMP received numerous reports of vehicle break-ins over the past week, with suspects captured on surveillance footage in at least one case.
Vehicles were broken into on multiple nights in the Rainbow subdivision, said Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair.
On Jan. 2, police received a complaint that jewelry had been stolen from a vehicle that had been parked in the neighbourhood. Further reports indicated that another vehicle in Rainbow had clothing and jewelry taken after a break-in, while another had $500 in gift certificates and a garage door opener stolen.
LeClair said more vehicle break-ins were reported from the Rainbow area on Friday morning (Jan. 4). One complainant’s vehicle was parked outside a friend’s house overnight and had been rummaged through during that time, with a ski instructor jacket and wallet missing. The same day, sunglasses, a GPS unit and keys to a garage and mailbox were also reported stolen from a vehicle in Rainbow.
Another theft from a vehicle was called in on Monday (Jan. 7) after binoculars were taken from a car in the 1200 block of Alpha Lake Road. Surveillance video showed a man with a dog in the vicinity of the car but did not capture the theft.
Later Monday afternoon, snowmobilers who had parked at the Brandywine Falls lot reported their vehicle broken into after a day of sledding. The window had been smashed upon their return to the vehicle, with an iPhone, iPod and snowboard stolen.
LeClair said two male suspects were captured on surveillance footage in two more vehicle break-ins reported Tuesday (Jan. 8) from an underground parking lot in the 4900 block of Spearhead Drive. One vehicle had a GPS unit and iPod Nano missing. Police removed some items from a vehicle to be examined for fingerprints.
Further thefts from cars reported over the past week included one in which a laptop was taken from a vehicle on Main Street, while a Seattle driver called in after leaving Whistler to report sunglasses stolen from his car while he was parked on Blackcomb Way, said LeClair.
Man seen masturbating
Police received another report of a man masturbating on the Valley Trail this week and are trying to determine if there’s any connection between the incident and similar ones in recent memory.
LeClair said RCMP received a call around 9:30 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 6) from a woman who noticed a man engaging in the lewd act near Lorimer Road and Balsam Way.
“There was a male standing in the shadows and when the female walked by, he made a comment to her,” said LeClair. “She observed that he was masturbating.”
Police did extensive patrols but did not locate a suspect. The complainant described him as a Caucasian male, wearing a hoodie, black glasses with thin rims and dark jeans.
“Police are investigating to see if this could be related to similar offences that occurred several months ago in the same area,” said LeClair.
Fraud reported
Police are hoping to locate two male suspects who used a fraudulent credit card at a Whistler retail location on Monday.
LeClair said a complainant advised that the men purchased more than $2,100 in goods on Monday evening. They came back to the store on Tuesday morning and attempted to return a jacket, providing a debit card to complete the return, which was denied.
The males said they would come back with the proper card, but the complainant followed up on the matter and learned the Visa used to make Monday’s purchases was fraudulent.
LeClair said the suspects were described as slim, Caucasian males of medium height in their late 20s who were “quite flamboyant.” One man was wearing a V-neck shirt, a flowery shoulder bag and a baseball cap with a Smith logo; the other wore a light brown jacket and backpage and was described as having bad acne.
Drivers stay safe in snow
LeClair said there were few vehicular incidents reported as a result of Tuesday’s big snowfall in the Sea to Sky corridor. The most notable incident saw a car go into the ditch near Suicide Hill on Highway 99 during the afternoon.
“It appears that, although traffic was moving slowly, people were driving carefully and there were no serious incidents as a result of the snow event we had (on Tuesday),” said LeClair.
