The Southey/Strasbourg RCMP detachment is asking all vacationers along Last Mountain Lake to be vigilant when it comes to suspicious activity around their resort communities.
The force has seen increased calls for service since the hot weather brought on more traffic along the lake and if anyone sees anything out of the ordinary, a call to police with a description of the perpetrators involved could be really helpful in solving a few unsolved thefts, while also decreasing the chance of more happening.
“We’re really trying to impress on the public that if you see any suspicious activity, especially the full-time residents in our resort communities, to let the police know,” said Cpl. Conrad Logan of the Southey RCMP. “If you see vehicles out of place, give us a call and we’ll check it out.”
Police are asking citizens in the area be mindful of suspicious vehicles or people around their properties after a number of thefts in the Strasbourg Resort area occurred over the past few months. The latest incident happened July 9, when a pontoon boat docked at Glen Harbour was robbed of electronics and fishing equipment.
“The best thing to do is write down the description of the suspicious vehicle and write down the plate number if you can get it,” said Logan. “If you can’t get the plate number, the vehicle might have an interesting characteristic, such as it’s got the big overhead lights or a big grill on the front of a truck, or maybe a sports car and it’s got spoiler on it or things like that.
“These are very good descriptions for us and for police officers, people always like to know what we drive, well we have a very good idea of what the locals drive. There are a lot of things that we can pick up.”
Logan said there are a variety of ways to protect your property when at a resort, but the main thing to remember is that even though you might be on vacation the weather and criminals will not.
“If you’ve got a boat on your lift, make sure it’s up out of the water high enough, so if the wind does get up the waves aren’t splashing against it,” he said. “Tie up you boat and don’t leave any valuables in your boat if you’re leaving it on your lift or in the dock.
“There are a lot of resort communities here on Last Mountain Lake where the shoreline is actually owned by the communities themselves and lots of members of the public walk up and down those shorelines. Late at night, you never know if there might be people down there walking and maybe somebody is just up to no good.”