The co-owner of an Arrow Lakes ski touring company is frustrated after thieves targeted vehicles in their staging area in Burton, drilling and draining the gas tanks.
“It’s so discouraging to have this happen,” says Shelly Glasheen, who operates Valykr Adventures with her husband Martin.
“We’ve lived here for 47 years. It’s been a very nice place. The crime rate was really low. We’ve been in business for 18 years and we’ve never had anything like this. It’s kind of a kick in the gut.”
Glasheen says they first noticed the trouble a couple of weeks ago when they went to pick up their own vehicle from the staging area and found it out of gas. They discovered the tank had been drained.
The next day they discovered that three other vehicles were also drilled and drained, and later learned that two other companies who stage their operations out of Burton were similarly victimized.
“We thought maybe this was a one off. No, it wasn’t a one off. We found a second time more vehicles had their gas tanks drilled.”
She says they found some equipment next to one of the vehicles suggesting the thieves were also interested in stealing catalytic convertors.
Glasheen says RCMP have opened a file and talked to all of the victims.
“They couldn’t offer us much in the way of a solution. They have limited resources, but they said they will swing by our staging area on their normal trips down the lake.”
Glasheen is asking anyone who sees something suspicious to contact them or police.
In the meantime, she says all the operators have taken extra measures to protect their guests’ property. In their case, they are putting up extra lighting and hiring a watchman to monitor their property around the clock.
Although they had security cameras, they are still reviewing the footage to see if anyone was caught.
Glasheen says the thefts are particularly galling given that the ski touring industry has been hard hit by COVID restrictions and people cancelling their trips.
“We have extra expenses and don’t need any more added on to our operation in these times when we’re stretched pretty thin,” she says.
She fears that the thefts could discourage tourists from visiting the area.
“Having this crime with no resolution in sight is not good for the region as a whole,” says Glasheen, who is on the board of Arrow Slocan Tourism.
However, she appreciates the community support they have received.
