Skip to content

Shuswap social media sleuth directs RCMP to decorations swiped in “Grinch-like” crime

Decorations stolen from five homes in Sicamous and Salmon Arm returned to rightful owners
23575043_web1_copy_201217-EVN-Stolen-Christams-decorations_1
Police seized and returned stolen decorations displayed at a Salmon Arm home. They highlighted the Grinch inflatable which had apparently fallen flat in an expression of guilt. (RCMP image)

Salmon Arm and Sicamous RCMP officers seized and returned several pieces of stolen Christmas decor, all found on the same front yard in Salmon Arm.

According to police, the dots were connected and the stolen items located by an alert citizen doing some social media sleuthing.

Police in Salmon Arm and Sicamous had received reports of two ‘Grinch-like’ thefts of outdoor Christmas decorations in Sicamous on Dec. 7. The stolen items were a 10-foot tall inflatable Frosty the Snowman and a large Santa in his sleigh.

Read More: Christmas decorations swiped in Sicamous

Read More: Mild weather continues for Okanagan–Shuswap

An area resident reviewing social media posts saw a Sicamous woman reporting that an inflatable unicorn had also been taken from her yard and, in a separate post, a Salmon Arm resident complained an inflatable Grinch display had been taken from her yard in the Auto Road area.

The sharp-eyed resident reported that blow-up decorations matching the descriptions of all four recently-stolen items had appeared on the front lawn of a residence in southeast Salmon Arm.

The suspicious decorations were reported to Sicamous RCMP, who passed it along to the Salmon Arm detachment. Police in Salmon Arm had just received a report that some reindeer decorations had also recently been taken.

Read More: Masked suspect makes off with cash, cigarettes from Sicamous 7-Eleven

Read More: Events, gatherings banned through Christmas, New Year’s in B.C. with no COVID reprieve in sight

“Mounties from both Sicamous and Salmon Arm attended to the Salmon Arm home where they found what they believed to be all of the stolen decorations on display in front of the home,” said Sgt. Murray McNeil, Detachment Commander for the Sicamous RCMP.

“When questioned by investigators, the resident advised they had recently purchased the items from an unnamed person and claimed they did not know they were stolen. Officers seized the items and have returned them to their rightful owners.”



jim.elliot@saobserver.net

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter



Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
Read more