Vernon fuel theft. A serial gas thief appears to be touring Okanagan. Following reports of gas drilling in Kelowna, Westside, and UBC Okanagan, the same suspect appears to have struck again – this time in Vernon. Shaun McCoy says someone drilled a tank in his Subaru Impreza on Sunday after leaving the vehicle in the parking lot at his job at Kekuli Bay Cabinetry, at the northern end of Swan Lake. Security camera footage shows a man in a black GMC Sonoma pickup standing next to McCoy’s car holding a can. The same vehicle appears to have been used in the Kelowna gas thefts. “The video surveillance shows the same type of small black truck and a person with a very similar structure and hair color carrying a red gas tank,” says McCoy. He arrived at work Monday morning in his other vehicle and did not notice anything at first until a colleague said “what is this under your car?” “Unfortunately, it was a bit vulnerable … I left it on the jack stands,” said McCoy, who worked in the car before stopping due to rain, so left it there for the weekend. “Fortunately, I have another vehicle,” he said. The theft happened around 2:45 p.m. and McCoy says the culprit “left a sloppy gas all over the ground, leaving little to be desired. Enraged, he tries to break into the vehicle and ends up tearing the door handle and not getting inside.” Gasoline thefts are on the rise as the price of fuel remains above $ 2 a liter. In a Kelowna theft on Campion Road, the same black pickup was recorded on surveillance video as two delivery vehicles were targeted. The thief broke into a locked unit to steal fuel. ICBC, meanwhile, says it has not seen a significant increase in fuel thefts in recent weeks. The insurer recommends parking in a well-lit area, in a locked garage or complex, adjusting the security systems to be activated by vibrations such as those caused by a saw or drill and reporting all incidents to the police. McCoy says the incident leaves him frustrated. “We all manage to do what we have to do,” he said. “We are not going to steal instead.” Photo: Contributed Kelowna fuel theft.
