Whistler RCMP are warning locals and visitors to keep their vehicles and front doors locked after responding to a string of thefts in Cheakamus Crossing—by suspects who later fled from police—during the first week of May.
The break-and-enters began just before midnight on Tuesday, May 3, when Whistler RCMP were called to respond to an incident in the 1100 block of Whitewater Drive, according to a release.
Police learned that a pair of suspects entered a home through an unlocked front door and gained entry to the garage. The suspects, a man and a woman, had also rummaged through unlocked vehicles parked in the driveway, stealing vehicle keys and a garage door opener. A complainant witnessed the woman gathering items from beside a nearby utility building—likely stolen items, police say—before the pair drove off in an SUV.
The complainant described the suspects’ vehicle as a dark SUV, and managed to record a partial license plate number of PXE.
Police returned to the Whitewater Drive area early the next morning, where more thefts and break-and-enters had been reported, when the investigation took a dramatic turn.
As Whistler police were in the Cheakamus neighbourhood probing the complaints, a member was approached at about 9 a.m. by a complainant who told police their bank card had just been used at a local business, located in the 2100 block of Lake Placid Road.
RCMP immediately headed to the Creekside area, on the lookout for the dark SUV with a license plate including the letters PXE. Police quickly managed to locate the vehicle. A run-through of the plate identified the SUV as stolen.
After noticing the unmarked police vehicle, the suspects fled the area. RCMP made an attempt to pull over the vehicle at the intersection of Highway 99 and Lake Placid Road, but the suspect vehicle proceeded to ram into a police vehicle before speeding away, headed northbound on Highway 99.
The vehicle was later found abandoned on Cougar Mountain FSR, after hours of searching and with the help of the public, police said. The vehicle was towed from the scene and will be examined for any forensic evidence.
The police have since identified a male and female suspected as being responsible for the Cheakamus thefts. Neither is a Sea to Sky resident.
Included in the long list of thefts reported on May 4 is $15 in change and a pocket knife from a resident’s unlocked vehicle, along with a pair of Blundstones stolen from their home after the suspects entered through their unlocked front door.
Another neighbour’s pickup truck was similarly pilfered, where the suspects found a set of house keys they used to gain access to the home and steal a Nintendo Switch gaming system, two pairs of Adidas shoes, a wool coat, and a quicksilver backpack filled with clothing.
Another resident discovered that a pair of black Maui Jim prescription sunglasses had been taken from her unlocked vehicle, while a camouflage Herschel wallet—containing a driver’s license, two BC Services cards, a TD Visa and TD debit card, and a Visa—as well as a grey puffy jacket were also reported as stolen from an unlocked Nissan SUV that had been parked on the street.
The Whistler RCMP say they will advise the complainants of recovered items once the vehicle has been examined.
Police ask anyone who observed the SUV driving in a dangerous manner to call the Whistler RCMP non-emergency line (604) 932-3044 to make a report.
‘If [Whistler] continue[s] to be an easy and soft target for criminals, then they will continue to come into our community’
“Overall, Whistler is a very safe community, which leads to people feeling safe to leave their vehicles and residences unlocked,” said Whistler RCMP Cpl. Nathan Miller in the release. “It’s great that Whistler residents feel safe in their community. However, we have to be aware of the fact that criminals from time to time travel up to Whistler to commit crime. If we continue to be an easy and soft target for criminals, then they will continue to come into our community and commit crime.
“Just one person in the community committing crime in an evening can cause a significant amount of damage in a short period of time, especially if there are no security measures in place to deter them or slow them down.”
Keeping vehicles and homes locked should be a habit, even during daytime hours, Miller said.
Whistler had a similar crime spree of break-and-enters and theft from vehicles in December 2021, “which all occurred during the middle of the day to insecure premises and vehicles,” he said. “It’s important to note that during this crime spree and the December 2021 crime spree only unlocked residences and vehicles were targeted. This shows that locking your vehicles and residence is effective.”
