Two accused Lake Country tree bandits are facing charges of theft under $5,000 and are currently banned from their neighbourhood parks.
Early Jan. 2, Mounties began to do patrols in the area of Jack Seaton Park after seeing social media posts concerning trees being removed from local parks illegally.
“The posts indicated that someone had cut down several trees and removed them from the park for firewood,” RCMP said in a press release.
“In the 10000 block of Tyndall Road, the officer found proof noticing marks in snow that trees had been dragged out to the roadside and bucked up. Furthermore, the officer noticed approximately 13 freshly cut tree stumps along with one full-cut tree left behind and leaning against others.”
Using photographs from witnesses in the neighbourhood, RCMP said the officer identified a suspect vehicle and two male occupants.
Then, later in the day, the officer again conducted patrols in the area, and this time police say they observed the men actively engaged in removing freshly cut trees from the park.
The officer made an arrest. Two men now face charges of theft under $5,000.
“This officer took the time to follow local social media, which helped identify a public concern, but the RCMP is encouraging citizens to call police directly when witnessing suspicious activities in our parks — for example, the sound of chain saws,” Const. Mike Della-Paolera said.
Anyone who may have information or may have witnessed suspicious activities possibly related to this file is asked to call the RCMP detachment at 250-766-2288 and reference file 2023-216.
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