'Very cool customer': Edmonton-area RV thief had security stickers, flashing light on truck
Almost $500,000 worth of RVs were stolen from a pair of Edmonton-area dealerships in recent weeks and there is suspicion that the same person took all four of them.
Security footage from Vision RV in Acheson early Sunday morning shows grinder sparks flying while someone cuts the lock off a gate.
The person leaves for a while, presumably to make sure no security or police respond, before returning to take a $120,000 fifth wheel.
"He came back, opened up the gates. He went right over the fifth wheel, backed right up to it, and took it away," Dealer Principal Larry Ricci told CTV News Edmonton.
Video shows the thief returning later that night to grab another RV worth nearly $150,000.
The white pickup used in the crimes had a flashing amber light on the roof and a black and white "security" magnet on the driver's side.
Ricci believes the person driving it was the same man who came in the day before and had a salesperson show him the trailers that were stolen.
"This uh, this wasn’t his first rodeo," Ricci said. "Very cool customer."
Word of the thief's flashing light went off like a lightbulb for Victor DaSilva. He owns Outback RV in Sherwood Park.
"On Nov. 19, 10 or 10:30 in the evening they breached our property, came in, and took a customer unit," DaSilva said.
That trailer is worth about $100,000. A brand new fifth wheel of the same value was also stolen from his lot, DaSilva said. A light-coloured pickup with flashing lights was captured on Outback's security video.
"When we seen these flashing lights and we heard about the Vision episode, we thought hey, it’s got to be linked together," DaSilva said.
RCMP are working the case and the RV Dealers Association of Alberta has issued an alert for the two Acheson RVs that were stolen.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.