Couple finds stolen truck destroyed

A Drake Landing couple’s frantic search for a work truck that went missing from their driveway last weekend ended in despair.

When Trevor Taylor noticed the company truck he drives was gone after letting it warm up in the driveway for five minutes at around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, he called 911 and decided to go on a search with his wife Crystal.

“We decided maybe we should drive around and look for it,” said Taylor. “We just thought the truck isn’t the greatest on the ice. I said, ‘If they are not good drivers they are going to end up in the ditch.’”

Taylor said they travelled north on 32nd Street and continued north at the four-way stop by the St. James Church.

When they came over the hill they saw the truck smashed into a telephone pole.

A police vehicle was already at the scene.

“I was hoping it would be in the ditch not wrapped around a pole,” said Taylor.

The Taylors, who say they’ve felt safe letting their vehicles warm up for a few minutes in cold temperatures during the nine years they’ve lived in Drake Landing, will take more precautions in the future.

Taylor said they alerted their neighbours to what had happened and learned that one had captured the incident on their video camera.

It shows a man walking by the home and Taylor’s work truck driving by a few minutes later.

“It just sucks for everyone,” said Taylor. “You can’t even warm up your vehicle when it’s -25C out. It just feels like Okotoks isn’t so small anymore.”

Okotoks RCMP received reports of two trucks stolen that night.

The other incident took place on Cimarron Springs Circle in the early hours of Dec. 11 when a white 2003 Ford F-250 went missing, said Sgt. Sukh Randhawa.

Randhawa said the residents suspect their son’s truck went missing from the driveway between midnight and 1:30 a.m.

“The vehicle was locked and plugged in,” he said. “The extension cord was pulled down the driveway.”

Randhawa said the RCMP have no suspects or witnesses in either incident, and is reminding motorists to be diligent due to the increase in vehicle thefts in recent weeks.

“In case you don’t have an automatic starter make sure you have two sets of keys to lock your doors before you go inside and wait for your vehicle to warm up,” he said.

Randhawa said theft of items in vehicles is also a problem and encourages people to remove all valuables to prevent them from being stolen.

Anyone with information about these incidents can contact the Okotoks RCMP at 403-938-4202.

Anonymous tips can be made to CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.tipsubmit.com