Dump truck from West Kelowna garden nursery found abandoned on Hwy 97C

A man was arrested yesterday after allegedly abandoning a stolen dump truck along Highway 97C between Ashcroft and Logan Lake.

Police were called at 9:30 am after receiving a report from a security guard about a broken down white Ford F550 dump truck on the side of the highway.

The security guard, who found the situation to be suspicious, noted that the dump truck was covered in decals associating it to a garden nursery based in West Kelowna.

“The security guard took the exceptional step to contact the business directly and was able to determine that the dump truck had in fact been stolen overnight,” said Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey, spokesman for the BC RCMP in the Southeast District.

Thanks to a description of the man who abandoned the truck, officers were able to locate and arrested him.
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Police seized items they considered to be break and enter tools upon the man’s arrest, which they determined was in breach of one of his conditions of release related to an incident near Williams Lake.

The 22-year-old man was later released from police custody on additional strict conditions. He faces a number of additional potential charges and is expected to make his first appearance in Merritt Law Counts on July 20, 2021.

If you witnessed this incident, or have any dash camera footage of the dump truck or the suspect and have not yet spoken to police you are asked to call the Logan Lake RCMP at 250-523-6222.