A Beiseker man ended up in hospital with minor injuries after trying to stop the theft of his truck on Saturday.
The man in his 50s, fed up with being targeted with vehicle thefts, took matters into his own hands when he found thieves trying to drive away in his Dodge Ram truck, but it didn’t turn out like he had hoped.
“The homeowner had tried to intervene and as a result of his intervention, he was struck by the vehicle and sustained non-critical injuries to a lower extremity,” said Norman Mercier, Beiseker RCMP.
Two men and a woman fled the scene in the truck, along with a second vehicle, a red Kia Sportage. Officers later spotted the vehicles and began a chase but called it off due to public safety concerns. Both vehicles and the suspects are still missing. Neighbours said it’s discouraging that thieves are so bold.
“It's a pretty traumatic thing here, and 8:30 in the morning? I mean, everybody is up. I'm just surprised that they'd be so bold,” said Chris Cottrell.
Part of what likely prompted the victim to step in is the fact that he had his other car stolen on the previous weekend as well, according to RCMP. Officials say thefts in small towns, villages and rural areas are becoming a problem. In a report released last week, Statistics Canada says rural crime was 38 per cent higher than urban crime in 2017.
“They're getting a lot more brazen, vehicles getting scratched or dented or mirrors broken off, things like that. But now it's the whole thing gets stolen,” said Terry Valler, Carstairs resident.
People in small towns say they're now being more diligent about locking up and protecting their property. The RCMP is warning victims of crime to call 911 instead of trying to prevent thefts themselves, as the consequences can be dangerous and even deadly.
