Excavator falsely thought to be ‘tree killer’ near Barriere sees 30K in damages

BARRIERE – Significant damage was caused to an excavator that was falsely believed to be involved in the logging industry, police said.

RCMP in Barriere believe the act of mischief over $5,000 occurred either late Wednesday, Sept. 18 or early Thursday, Sept. 19. The suspect or suspect caused significant damage to the John Deere excavator by cutting numerous wires and hoses, drilling into metallic parts and shoving dirt into the heavy equipment's air intake. The equipment was spray-painted with profanity and the words "Tree Killer."

According to the police, the owner of the tractor was contracted to clean up the ditch and culvert in the Knouff Lake Road area. The excavator was parked in a clearing where logging had occurred previously. The owner claims that the area has seen signs in the area in opposition to logging and believes the person responsible may have incorrectly believed that he was involved in the logging industry.

"We believe that whoever is responsible likely had a strong familiarity of the working components of these types of heavy machinery, which allowed them to cause maximal damage," said Cpl. Rob Welsman. "Unfortunately, this careless act resulted in a leak of fluids onto the ground which also caused soil contamination concerns. Damages are estimated to be upwards of $30,000 to repair."

Anyone with information regarding the mischief is asked to call the Barriere RCMP at 250-672-9918 or to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

To contact a reporter for this story, email Parker Crook or call (250) 864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.