The Sundre RCMP is seeking help to identify suspects who stole a truck from a rural property, but urge anyone who might see them not to approach as they are considered armed and dangerous.
On Thursday, March 7 at 10:47 a.m., the local detachment received a report that a vehicle had just been stolen from a rural residence southwest of the Eagle Hill area east of town, said Cpl. Joe Mandel.
Upon arriving at the scene, police were informed that the homeowner is out of the country and had contacted family members to check the property when his video security system alerted him that two suspicious people with a dark Lexus SUV were snooping around his residence, he said.
The homeowner’s father reported that when he arrived he discovered two individuals — a man and a woman — in the process of driving the homeowner’s pickup truck out of the garage. Immediately realizing the pair were thieves, the father told police he used his vehicle to block them from getting away with his son’s pickup truck.
The homeowner’s brother, Travis Phillips, also arrived just as the thieves were fleeing in both the stolen pickup truck as well as the Lexus, police said.
Phillips, who lives just minutes away, was at home with his wife and two young children, ages three and one, when he got the heads-up about the situation at around 10:26 a.m.
“I live close to him; didn’t take me very long to respond,” he said.
After loading up his family in the truck with the initial intention to go see what had been stolen from his brother’s place, Phillips said he did not expect to encounter the thieves.
“We understood they were gone already, that the truck was already stolen,” said Phillips, adding he was surprised to cross paths with the two suspects as they were making their way down the driveway to leave the property.
At that point, “our thought process was to try and stop them until the police was able to show up,” he said, adding he attempted to block their path.
“If he was getting away, we were going to make it difficult for him,” he said.
“Unfortunately, they were able to get around and get out,” he said.
Driving around the father’s truck, which was initially blocking them, the suspects fled down the long driveway. The two family members then hopped back into their vehicles and pursued the suspects, who encountered a third member of the homeowner’s family that attempted to block the thieves’ exit with her vehicle, said police.
But the suspects were able to drive through the ditch to get around that vehicle and back onto the main road heading north, the witnesses told police. The family members continued to chase after them in their own vehicles down a dead end road, where they parked and waited for the culprits to turn around and head back out, which they did.
The female suspect driving the Lexus reportedly ended up in the ditch. With that vehicle stuck, she jumped out and into the stolen pickup truck with the male suspect. Police said the male then drove up to the family members that were blocking the road and pointed a sawed-off small calibre rifle, demanding they move.
“They did not, and the thief drove into the ditch where he momentarily got stuck in the snow,” said Mandel, adding one of the family members had been able to capture a photo of the driver before he managed to get the pickup truck free and fled.
The stolen truck is a black 2016 GMC Sierra Duramax Diesel with Alberta licence plate BWL6101 and VIN 1GT42YE8XGF288853. The pickup will have minor damage to both the front driver side and front passenger side.
The Lexus was subsequently determined to have been stolen out of Lloydminster, said Mandel.
The male suspect is described as a Caucasian in his mid to late 20s with a slim build, light brown hair, a moustache, brown Carhartt clothing, a beige ball cap with a dark brim, and wearing sunglasses. The female suspect is described as a Caucasian in her early 20s with black winter clothing and wearing sunglasses.
Under no circumstances should anyone approach the suspects, as they are considered armed and dangerous, said Mandel.
“It worked out in this instance that no one was hurt,” the corporal said.
“But we don’t recommend boxing in thieves or pursuing them,” he said, adding suspects could potentially react unpredictably and dangerously like a cornered animal desperately attempting to escape.
“It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t get there sooner,” said the corporal, adding there had already been a substantial time delay between when the truck was stolen and when police received the call.
The initial incident happened at around 10:30 a.m., and by the time officers left the scene to check out the surrounding area for approximately half an hour, it was already about 11:30 a.m., he said.
Phillips said his wife called the RCMP at 10:32 a.m., but that officers did not arrive at the scene until roughly half an hour later, and wondered whether there had been a dispatch delay.
“We were disappointed by how long it took the police to get there.”
Although he has never personally experienced a situation such as this first-hand, Phillips has heard similar stories from others.
“You hear about this all over the place,” he said, adding more and more rural property owners are installing gates and security systems.
“It’s getting out of hand.”
Phillips does not regret his actions, and said he actually might have tried even harder to prevent the thieves from fleeing if his family had not been in his truck.
“I wish I could have done more than what was done.”
But looking back, Phillips said he also wished his family wasn’t in the vehicle.
He said he understands where police are coming from when authorities urge the public to avoid confronting thieves that could react unpredictably and dangerously placing people in greater peril, but added, “At that time, I felt like a cornered animal too. We need to be able to protect our property.”
The laws are too loose, he said, adding that even when they’re caught, criminals typically pay a bit of bail money and are “right back out doing the exact same thing all over again.”
There needs to be tougher consequences, he said, adding many thieves are now carrying guns.
“It’s scary,” he said during a phone interview Monday morning, adding, “I’m still shaken.”
The stolen truck was last seen heading eastbound along Twp. Rd. 340 by the Eagle Hill Co-op, said Mandel.
The Didsbury and Olds RCMP detachments were advised to be on the lookout for the suspects, and no other complaints of suspicious activity in the area were reported on the day of the incident. There were as of Monday's press deadline no updates, he said.
