Victoria Police, Coast Guard team up to recover stolen canoe with sentimental value

Victoria Police, Coast Guard team up to recover stolen canoe with sentimental value
Victoria Police
The owner of a canoe has been reunited with the vessel after it was stolen over the weekend.

The Victoria Police Department teamed up with the Canadian Coast Guard and managed to recover a canoe on Monday after it was stolen over the weekend.

According to police, officers received a report of a stolen canoe on Saturday, August 14 that was spotted tied to a sailboat anchored in the Gorge Waterway.

Police attended the scene where the sailboat and canoe had been spotted, however, by the time officers arrived, they were unable to locate the canoe.

The owner of the canoe told police that the vessel had “immense sentimental value” as he had owned it since the 1980s, and had circumnavigated both Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii in the boat.

Two days later, on Monday, August 16, patrol officers received information that the canoe had returned to the Gorge Waterway.

Police linked up with the Canadian Coast Guard and were able to locate a suspect travelling in the stolen vessel.

The suspect was advised that he was under arrest for possession of the stolen property, however, he paddled ashore and fled the area on foot.

Although the suspect managed to flee the area, police have identified him and put a warrant out for his arrest.

The canoe was recovered at the scene and has since been returned to its rightful owner.

This file remains under investigation.

Anyone with information about this incident is being asked to call the VicPD Report Desk at (250) 995-7654 extension 1.

To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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