car thefts

By Trevor Greenway
Local Journalism Initiative

MRC des Collines Police say they have identified four suspects in connection with a string of 30 car break-ins and stolen vehicles in Cantley and Val-des-Monts over the last month. 

According to MRC des Collines Spokesperson Martin Fournel, three male teenagers, aged 17 and one adult male, 18, are the main suspects in at least 30 reported break-ins and car thefts. Fournel said that two of the 17-year-old suspects are Cantley residents. 

Police seized a vehicle in Gatineau on March 2, believed to be in connection with this string of thefts.  

Fournel is urging motorists to lock their doors and to report thefts after his precinct fielded more than 30 complaints regarding vehicle break-ins and car thefts. 

“These are opportunity thefts,” said Fournel, explaining that these vehicle thefts are not linked to the rise in car thefts across Canada, in which thieves are using the Flipper Zero gadget that can reprogram key fobs. “Unlocked doors, leaving valuables in the vehicle, and in some cases, the keys were left in the car.”

Fournel said that a lot of Gatineau Hills residents feel that, because they live in a rural setting, they don’t need to lock their car doors while at home or while they are in local villages shopping. However, with thefts on the rise, police are urging motorists to take precautions. 

Thieves have become more brazen these days, with locals reporting daytime thefts at their country homes. Masham resident Jean Bernard Bertrand had his 16-foot trailer stolen out of his driveway in October of last year. 

Low resident Maggie Early left the Low arena after volunteering only to find that a thief had smashed her rear passenger window and stolen her wallet with “a good sum of cash in it,” along with her credit cards and driver’s driver’s license. 

“You try and give back to the community, and this is the thanks I get,” Early, a longtime arena and community volunteer, posted on Facebook Feb. 12. She said her truck was locked, as it “always is.”

Fournel told the Low Down that police have recovered some evidence from the Cantley thefts, including surveillance footage of the suspects, but he is urging more residents to come forward with complaints. 

He said that police suspect there could be more culprits and more incidents and he urges anyone who has been a victim of theft to report it to police immediately.

“So if they don’t report it, we cannot investigate it, and maybe in some cases, we could have found some footprints, or, you know, fingerprints,” said Fournel.