A 27-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman are alleged to have stolen two vehicles before being arrested by Fort Simpson RCMP.
RCMP are asking the public for information on a driver believed to have picked up the suspects after they abandoned the first vehicle between Behchokǫ̀ and Fort Providence, then given them a ride to Fort Providence’s Big River gas station.
The first vehicle, a white SUV with a “Pizza Hut” decal, was reported missing to Yellowknife RCMP on Friday morning just before 9am, police said.
In a statement on Saturday, RCMP said the Pizza Hut SUV was found abandoned later that morning in a ditch between Behchokǫ̀ and Fort Providence on Highway 3.
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Less than an hour after the first missing vehicle had been reported to Yellowknife RCMP, police Fort Providence reported receiving a call about a white passenger van said to have been stolen from the Big River gas station.
The suspects were later arrested with the van on the way to Fort Simpson, approximately 150 km outside Fort Providence.
RCMP spokesperson Marie York-Condon said police could not yet publish the suspects’ identity as charges had not been sworn.
“While the investigation has not confirmed who took the first white SUV from Yellowknife, we have reason to believe it may be related to the second vehicle theft in Fort Providence,” said York-Condon in Saturday’s news release.
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She encouraged anyone who picked up hitchhikers on Highway 3, or saw anyone on the highway on Friday morning, to call RCMP.
“The public may be able to assist us in piecing together the movements of the vehicles in the early hours of December 28,” York-Condon said.
If you have information that could help, contact Yellowknife RCMP at 867-669-1111 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.
