Stolen travel trailer quickly recovered thanks to game camera footage

Oceanside RCMP quickly recovered a travel trailer stolen from a Horne Lake property over the weekend.

On February 3, 2024 Oceanside RCMP received a report of a stolen travel trailer from a property at Horne Lake. While the expected details such as make, model, description and licence plate were provided, frontline investigators also obtained game camera footage depicting a suspect vehicle leaving the area.

Images of the suspect vehicle were quickly disseminated to Island RCMP Detachments where a sharp-eyed Nanaimo RCMP officer located the vehicle in Nanaimo.

With the information from the Nanaimo RCMP officer, Oceanside RCMP General Investigation Section executed a search warrant at a Nanaimo residence on February 6, 2024 which led to the recovery of the stolen travel trailer later the same day.

This investigation highlights the value of surveillance video in identifying crime suspects, says Corporal Mike Kane of the Oceanside RCMP General Investigation Section. The game camera footage allowed police to quickly identify a suspect vehicle and to provide that image to neighbouring Detachments in real time. The surveillance images and the keen observations of the Nanaimo officer assisted us greatly in this investigation.

While no charges have been laid at this time, the investigation continues and the travel trailer owner was grateful to have their trailer recovered.