Two suspects allegedly broke into the Sun Peaks arena in late January and started the municipality’s toolcat, according to Omar Butt, Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality’s (SPMRM) director of public works.
According to a report filed by the bylaw officer who responded to the break-in, after midnight on Jan. 28, a security camera detected movement at the arena, which sent an alarm alert to SPMRM’s bylaw officer. The officer and Sun Peaks Resort security responded to the alarm — when they arrived, they say they found two males had started the machine and were trying to get it into gear and drive the vehicle.
The two males fled the scene when security and the bylaw officer arrived.
A toolcat is a two-person work vehicle SPMRM used for snow removal, sanding, moving dirt and rearranging pieces of the arena rink.
Butt said the toolcat is typically parked in the driveway of the arena because SPMRM doesn’t have a public works shop. Before the attempted theft, he said there hadn’t been a need to lock the toolcat up, but that will change now.
“We’re changing our procedures a little bit, making sure we lock things up and just trying to be as safe as possible, so that doesn’t happen again,” Butt explained.
Butt said he did not recognize either of the suspects caught on video.
“One guy was wearing a ball cap. One guy was wearing a toque. [They] looked fairly young, I would probably say between 20 and 30,” Butt explained.
Sun Peaks Fire Chief Dean Schiavon said describing the suspects or their clothing in detail would be difficult because an infrared camera recorded the alleged incident in the dark.
Schiavon wants to remind community members to keep their cars and valuables locked.
Kamloops RCMP provided a written statement about the attempted theft.
“Tk’emlúps Rural RCMP Detachment received a report of an attempted theft of a snow plow on the 3300-block of Village Place. Two people ran from the plow when a vehicle approached – they were described as male, one wearing a red ball cap and dark jacket. No damage was reported,” an email from Crystal Evelyn, Kamloops RCMP media relations officer, stated.
If anyone has information about the incident at Sun Peaks arena, please call the Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 and use file 2023-3326.
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