Oceanside RCMP are closing in on a pair of thieves who have been operating in the area, and they’ve called in help from their countparts in Nanaimo to wrap up the case.
Constable Gary O’Brien said police believe the same two suspects are responsible for at least two incidents over the past week.
The first of these occurred on June 22 just before 8 a.m. when police received a report of a man and woman in the parking lot of the Old Dutch Inn in Qualicum Beach who were attempting to steal the rear licence plate of a vehicle parked there.
He said the pair appeared to be trying to switch the plate with those on the vehicle they were driving when the owner of the vehicle confronted them and they fled, leaving behind the rear plate of the vehicle they were driving.
The licence plate was registered to a silver Hyundai, which had been reported stolen from Nanaimo on June 21.
Officers with the RCMP and Central Island Traffic Services immediately fanned out to search for the suspect vehicle, but they were unsuccessful in their quest.
They didn’t have to wait long to find out what the pair may have been up to however. They received a call about a break and enter incident in Errington some time around 8:30 a.m.
In this incident, the occupants of the home found a female in their home, who promptly fled the scene.
The female, described as between 15 and 18 years of age, five feet, five inches in height, with blonde hair in a pony tail and wearing grey sweat pants and a black hoodie, is the same one as in the earlier incident.
The Nanaimo connection came in after a credit card stolen from the Errington home was used in Nanaimo.
O’Brien said the Oceanside RCMP and Nanaimo RCMP detachments are working together in an attempt to determine the identity of the pair and are asking anyone with information about the case to call them at 250-248-6111 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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