KELOWNA –A luxury boat in Kelowna with a price tag of more than $100,000 has vanished.
Banner Recreational Products in Kelowna has taken a big hit with the theft – but thankfully the crime, which happened in broad daylight, was caught on camera. Staff at the store watched the surveillance footage in dismay, as their most expensive boat was stolen.
“The way it was specked out was around $111,000 with a trailer and motor on,” says Jeff Schwartz, General Manager of Banner Recreational Products.
The surveillance footage may be the key to solving this crime.
“They came in around seven in the morning on Sunday, they pulled the locks off the trailer, cut the cable off and proceeded to drag the boat around to the back of our building and then stole the boat,” says Schwartz.
Banner Recreation is closed on Sundays and Mondays, but the owner came in on Monday to do some work and noticed the boat was gone. He immediately alerted Schwartz.
“I take it personally, even though it’s our place of business and I need to look at it that way, but I do take it personally,” says Schwartz. “To replace this, we are now talking probably three months and you know, it hurts us as a business as well.”
It took about 45 minutes for the thief or thieves to get away with the boat. The surveillance footage shows the culprits trying to latch the boat trailer to their truck. However, after that didn’t seem to work, they appear to drive away.
- What is a halal mortgage? How interest-free home financing works in Canada
- Capital gains changes are ‘really fair,’ Freeland says, as doctors cry foul
- Budget 2024 failed to spark ‘political reboot’ for Liberals, polling suggests
- Peel police chief met Sri Lankan officer a court says ‘participated’ in torture
The suspects were back again soon, but even in the second attempt things didn’t go smoothly. A Seadoo had been attached to the boat as a security measure, and was dragged along with the boat; later ditched near the side of the building.
“They dragged the Seadoo and the lift and then they cut the cable off of it,” says Schwartz.
The culprits used a white Ford F350 to steal the boat. That too was stolen, says its owner.
“I was shocked,” says Dave Langfield. “Not only do they have a $100,000 boat, they also have a $60,000 truck.”
Langfield lives in Abbotsford but was in Kelowna for a wedding this weekend. He was staying at the Best Western Hotel in West Kelowna when he discovered Sunday morning his truck was gone.
He says couldn’t believe his eyes when he watched Global News and saw his truck being used to steal the boat in the surveillance footage.
Langfield is certain the truck in the footage is his.
As for Banner Recreational Products, it’s their second big hit this year.
“At our Vernon store, we lost some boats to a fire,” says Schwartz. “It was arson.”
Staff hope the stolen boat won’t be too hard to track down because it is so unique.
“There’s probably only about seven or eight of this kind of boat out there right now that would be on the water,” says Schwartz.
Anyone with any information about the theft is asked to contact RCMP.
Comments