WESTLOCK – With farmers heading back into the fields for spring seeding, RCMP are reminding them to make sure the keys are removed from unattended vehicles.
Acting Westlock RCMP Detachment commander Cpl. Riley Sutherland said that around 10 p.m., April 24, a Ford Fusion was stolen from a farmer’s field near Range Road 254 and Township Road 632 and they’ve yet to recover it.
“This was a crime of opportunity. It was there, it was unlocked and the keys were there so they took it and went,” said Sutherland April 27.
And while Sutherland appreciates that people shouldn’t have to lock up the vehicles, or their property, “criminals recognize that at this time of the year farmers are out in the fields and not able to quickly get back and check on their vehicles.”
“It’s just trying to be preventative and stopping crime before it happens. It’s not just in cities where people have to lock things up, it’s in the rural areas as well. We’re the ones still leaving things unlocked as the people in the city have stopped,” she said.
Asphalt scammer in town
RCMP also received a second local report of a scammer looking to sell asphalt and remind residents to do their due diligence when buying goods and services from travelling salespeople.
Sutherland said they got a call April 25 from a resident within the Town of Westlock that a person was looking to sell them asphalt and get paid in advance.
Sutherland said the description is same as the one they got last week from a county resident — the salesman is a bearded, 6’0” Caucasian man in his late 30s, wearing an orange, high-visibility vest and was driving a white Dodge 1500 — there was no plate information provided to police or visible markings on the truck.
Sutherland advises to hire only known and reputable businesses, check their credentials and to never pay in full until the work is done. She also said residents can call them if they have concerns or ask the company if they have a business licence, which is necessary for work in the Town of Westlock, or to even check in with the Westlock and District Chamber of Commerce to see if they’re a member.
Sutherland said the asphalt scam is just one of a number that makes the rounds of communities across Alberta and includes everything from furnace repair to water heater replacement, carpet cleaning and shingling.
