Several stolen animals and personal items were recently all recovered and returned safe and sound to their rightful Sundre-area owner, and police have charged two suspects in the theft.
On Sunday, July 15, a rural property owner from the Garrington Bridge area reported to the Sundre RCMP detachment that she came home earlier that afternoon to find that a chain on the gate to her property had been cut, police reported.
She further stated that someone came onto her property, broke into her residence and several outbuildings and then stole boxes of personal items, various animal feed and dog kennels. While checking her property further, she discovered that her dog, a Siamese cat, a horse and five lambs had also been stolen. The property owner followed up with her neighbours to determine whether they had witnessed anything, and she subsequently learned that an adult female driving a white truck was seen on her property the previous day, said police.
The neighbours were familiar with the suspect female and obtained the licence plate and photos of the truck, which was passed on to the victim, who then attended the suspect female’s residence, located in the Bearberry area, and immediately saw her animals, prompting her to call the police.
The animals’ owner provided officers with the photos she received from the neighbours as well as personal photos of her animals to assist the police with identifying them. Police attended the suspect female’s residence and confirmed the presence of the animals, and proceeded to arrest the female and a male for possession of stolen property. A warrant was obtained to search the property, where a majority of the possessions were recovered, including all of the animals that were stolen, said police.
Ginia Marie Ann Rees, 36, of Sundre, has been charged with break and enter, theft under $5,000, six counts of theft of cattle, mischief under $5,000, possession of stolen property as well as obstruction.
Carl Gerald Johnson, 60, of Rocky Mountain House, was charged with possession of stolen property and obstruction. Both Rees and Johnson were released from custody to appear in Alberta provincial court in Didsbury on Aug. 20 to speak to the allegations.
Residents provide the RCMP with local intelligence that can help solve cases. Members of the community know when there are strange vehicles in the area, suspicious behaviours being observed or knowledge of attempted crimes. When the RCMP receives this information, it assists with the deployment of resources and subsequent investigations, said the Sundre RCMP detachment’s Cpl. Joe Mandel.
The public is encouraged to report crimes that have been committed — no matter how small — as such information feeds into the RCMP’s larger intelligence picture, said Mandel.
“This is a perfect result of neighbours watching out for one another and I am pleased that the Sundre detachment was able to get those animals back to their rightful owner.”
However, police do not recommend privately pursuing an investigation, and urge people to call police so officers can follow up on leads, he added.
“I’m not saying what she did was wrong,” the corporal said about the victim’s decision to check out the suspect’s property.
But providing the RCMP with evidence such as photographs and licence plate numbers so members can further investigate an offence is the advisable course of action to take to reduce risk by avoiding the possibility of a direct confrontation that could result in an escalation, he said.
“Safety’s paramount,” he said.
In this instance, the situation worked out. The victim immediately left the suspect’s property to call police upon determining the stolen animals were at the residence, he said.
“When she verified the animals were there, she left and got out of there,” he said.
“She did the right thing to pull away and call police.”
Under no circumstances should anyone in such a situation proceed to directly confront the accused, he added.
