Natural gas infrastructure tampered with in Mission, B.C., RCMP say

An advanced gas meter is shown in an image from FortisBC.

Mounties in Mission, B.C., say they're investigating two instances of apparent "mischief to natural gas infrastructure" in the city.

Both incidents occurred on Sept. 8, Mission RCMP said in a news release Friday.

The first was reported around 2 p.m., when police were notified of a gas leak near 2nd Avenue and Welton Street.

"Soon afterwards, the Mission Fire Rescue Service confirmed that they had located a gas line that had been tampered with at the construction site of an apartment building being built at 33230 2nd Ave.," the release reads.

Officers searched the building and found two small fires had been set inside, multiple sink and bathroom faucets had been turned on, and "the thermostats and ovens in several units had been turned all the way up," police said.

The running water flooded several floors of the building, according to RCMP, who said a police dog was brought in to search the structure, but no one was found inside.

Roughly two hours later, another gas leak was reported, this time in the alleyway north of 1st Avenue between Grand and James streets, police said. This second location is only about a block away from the first.

Police said multiple fittings had been removed from a gas meter that serves one of the businesses on 1st Avenue. They added that no suspects were located.

"No motive for these incidents of mischief and arson has been identified," the release reads.

Mounties ask anyone with information about the Sept. 8 incidents to contact them, and urge anyone who sees someone tampering with a gas meter or smells rotten eggs or sulphur to call 911.

The non-emergency phone number for Mission RCMP is 604-826-7161, and the file number for these incidents is 2024-10866.