Three people have been arrested after stealing and trying to carjack several vehicles while evading police near the B.C.-Alberta border on Thursday.
Elk Valley RCMP said the action started just before 10 a.m., when a white Chevy pickup truck was reported stolen from a property in Hosmer, B.C., south of Sparwood.
The owner said the Chevy was last seen being driven by an unknown person toward Highway 43 along with a second vehicle, a dark Ford pickup. The driver of the Ford appeared to be associated with the first driver.
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Police located the dark Ford and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver accelerated toward the officers, who had to take “evasive action to avoid a collision,” RCMP said.
It’s not known what happened to the white Chevy or the dark Ford after that traffic stop was attempted.
A short time later, RCMP noticed a suspicious-looking white Ford, and determined that it was stolen.
Officers tried to place the driver under arrest, but the Ford fled the scene, narrowly avoiding a police service dog member who had to jump to safety, RCMP said.
The white Ford fled onto Highway 3 toward the Alberta border, followed by Elk Valley and Crowsnest Pass RCMP. The vehicle was found some distance away.
A male and female suspect were then seen fleeing on foot and trying to carjack several vehicles. They were both quickly arrested.
The police dog then started tracking a third suspect who stole another vehicle on the highway and headed toward Cranbrook.
While he was pursued by RCMP and BC Conservation Service officers, the suspect abandoned the stolen vehicle, carjacked another vehicle, and continued to Jaffray, B.C., where he tried to steal yet another vehicle.
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The police dog helped take the suspect into custody on a private property.
Taylor Kirk Curl, 31, and 20-year-old Zara Morrison have been charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000 and theft of a motor vehicle.
Curl is also charged with assaulting a peace officer, willfully resisting a peace officer, dangerous operation of a conveyance, flight from police and failure to stop.
Brendan Sean Tracy, 35, faces two counts of resisting a peace officer, two counts of robbery and two counts of possession of stolen property over $5,000.
He’s also been charged with break and enter, theft of a motor vehicle, flight from police, and dangerous operation of a conveyance.
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All three are due to appear in court on July 9 to face those charges.
RCMP are still investigating the dramatic series of events.
“This is an outstanding example of a coordinated response by RCMP from across the entire southeastern part of B.C. and Alberta to work together towards a successful resolution,” Elk Valley RCMP commander Staff Sgt. Jeff Harrold said in a statement.
“We would like to extend our thanks to the community who were instrumental in reporting vehicle locations as the events unfolded.”
Anyone who witnessed the various events is asked to contact Elk Valley RCMP.
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