A local business owner got more than he bargained for after allowing two young males to peruse his property for salvage last week.
On Tuesday, March 29 at about 2 p.m., two teenage males attended the Water Valley Contracting Salvage Yard located in Sundre on 10th Street SW just south of Tim Hortons. The males asked the owner if they could rummage through some vehicles to find a used car stereo and were granted permission to do so.
Approximately 15 minutes later, the males were located in the back end of the yard banging on vehicles. They were told to leave, which they did. The owner later discovered that the males had caused extensive damage to 18 motor vehicles by smashing in windshields, side windows, rear hatchback windows, tail lights and so on.
More than half of the vehicles damaged were for resale and not salvage. The cost of damages are not yet known but are believed to be well in excess of $20,000.
Both suspects are between 15 and 18 years old with slim builds. One has lighter colour hair and is taller than the other suspect ó he was wearing blue jeans, a black hoodie and also had a bright yellow skateboard. The other male has dark hair, was wearing blue jeans and sported a dark backpack as well as a skateboard.
At about 2:20 p.m., the males left the salvage yard walking eastbound, south of Main Avenue.
Following this incident, between the night of Wednesday, March 30 and the morning of Saturday, April 2, two to three suspects returned to the salvage yard and caused similar damage to several other vehicles. The suspects also stole several tires on aluminum rims as well as vehicle parts, police said.
Police believe the same individuals are responsible for both incidents. The total damage is estimated at $100,000, and the police investigation is continuing.
Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to contact the Sundre RCMP at 403-638-3675 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
