Victoria man hopes to be re-united with totem

Victoria man hopes to be re-united with totem
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A photo from Pinterest that appears to depict Mark Trueman's missing totem

A Victoria man is putting out a public plea for the return of his totem after a photo surfaced online that appears to show it after it was stolen from his home.

Mark Trueman says he originally acquired the totem while performing contract work for the Quw’utsun’ Cultural and Conference Centre. The huge wood carving caught Trueman’s interest despite its poor condition. “The dorsal fin was completely gone,” Trueman says. “The tail fin was rotted and half-missing. It was in a corner to be discarded. I asked if I could have it and my client gave it to me.”

Trueman says he spent over 200 hours restoring it in his home, and displayed it in his yard in Duncan. During a divorce, he says the totem was stolen from the property.

“I was assured that the Duncan RCMP were called,” Trueman says. “To be honest there were so many preoccupations that I didn’t really follow up with it.”

Several years later, about one week ago, Trueman says he became curious about the fate of the wood carving and spontaneously searched for “killer whale orca carving.”

“This postcard came up with my carving on it,” Trueman says. “I was happy to see that it still existed.”

Trueman says that he initially took his search to the online world, but after being contacted by VicPD, he filed an official report with them.

He is hoping that someone who recognizes the totem from the photograph will come forward and provide information to reunite him with it.

Tim FordTim Ford

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