Updated: Five vehicles at the Williams Lake Regional Airport had their windows broken, were rifled through, and had their gasoline tanks tampered with according to RCMP.
Airport manager Tim Lussier said it was discovered by staff on a routine maintenance check on groundside Wednesday morning.
“We noticed five vehicles had their passenger side window smashed into and it looks like the contents of the vehicles, glovebox, etcetera were gone through,” Lussier said.
Because the vehicles were in the public parking lot, Lussier said they belonged to passengers who have flown out of the airport.
“I’ve been at this airport for quite a few years and this is the third time I’ve seen it in let’s say 20 years,” he said. “The RCMP is on-site right now and they’re going to notify in the owners of the vehicles and relocate the vehicles for security purposes.”
“It’s very disappointing, I mean it’s a pretty secure airport,” Lussier added. “When something happens like this it affects everyone.”
The Airport does not have surveillance cameras at this time.
“We have 24/7 staff but unfortunately they’re looking at airside not groundside but it’s awareness,” Lussier said. “We just have to be more aware.”
Williams Lake RCMP Officer in Charge Inspector Jeff Pelley said theft from motor vehicles has dramatically increased. He said there have been 62 founded incidents for the first two months of 2020 compared to 30 in the same time period in 2019.