Social media posters help Shuswap RCMP track down stolen Christmas decorations

RCMP in the Shuswap are crediting an alert citizen for helping police solve an investigation into the theft of outdoor Christmas decorations.

Police in Sicamous received a pair of reports on Dec. 7 of large inflatable Christmas decorations stolen overnight on Dec. 5 from front yards, according to a Sicamous RCMP media release. A 10-foot high inflatable Frosty the Snowman was taken from a yard on TCH Frontage Road, while a large Santa in his sleigh was taken from a home on Cottonwood Avenue.

A watchful citizen reviewing online social media saw a Sicamous woman shared that her child’s inflatable unicorn had also been taken from the front yard of her Conn Street residence.

In a separate post from a Salmon Arm resident living in the Auto Road area, a homeowner said their daughter’s inflatable Grinch had been taken from their lawn too. The Salmon Arm detachment was contacted, who confirmed they also had a recent report of two reindeer stolen from a residence.

An alert citizen reported to Sicamous RCMP that all the suspected stolen inflatable decoration had very recently appeared in a holiday display on the front lawn of a residence in southeast Salmon Arm.

"Mounties from both Sicamous and Salmon Arm attended to the Salmon Arm home where they found, what they believed to be, all of the stolen decorations on display in front of the home," Sicamous detachment commander Sgt. Murray McNeil, said in the release. "When questioned by investigators, the resident advised they had recently purchased the items from an unnamed person and claimed they did not know they were stolen. Officers seized the items and have returned them to their rightful owners."

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