'It's disheartening': $11K worth of gear stolen from search and rescue crew in B.C. Interior
A search and rescue group in B.C.'s Interior is asking the public to keep an eye out for several pieces of equipment that were recently stolen from them.
Quesnel Search and Rescue shared news of the theft on its social media accounts on Thursday, along with photos of some of the gear that was taken and a surveillance image of a suspect.
Bob Zimmerman, president of the Quesnel Search and Rescue Society, told CTV News Vancouver the stolen items include two rope rescue kits, three bags of rope and six portable radios with backup batteries for each one.
"It's over $11,000 in value, so it's going to have an effect on us for replacing it all," Zimmerman said. "We do have insurance. I have not spoken to the insurance company yet."
He said he hopes members of the public will contact Quesnel RCMP if they see any of the items, all of which are specialized equipment for search and rescue teams and not especially useful to the general public.
"It's disheartening to see someone that's willing to do such a thing against a non-profit society that's here to help the public," Zimmerman said.
The theft won't stop Quesnel Search and Rescue from responding to calls, but it could limit the number of teams the society can send into the field, according to Zimmerman. That, in turn, could endanger the lives of people who need help.
Like many search and rescue organizations in the Lower Mainland, Quesnel Search and Rescue has had a busy year, Zimmerman said.
"So far this year, we've had 12 callouts, which I know may sound low to some large communities," he said.
In addition to asking the public to be on the lookout for the missing gear, Zimmerman is calling on the thief to do the right thing and return it.
"It's very frustrating to me that someone would even contemplate doing that," he said. "They're not thinking about society at all, only about themselves."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.