Brand new Toyotas stolen in Penticton

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Four brand new Toyota vehicles were taken from the Penticton Toyota lot on Skaha Lake Road in Penticton either overnight or early Tuesday morning, according to the Penticton RCMP.

Nine new vehicles were dropped off Monday night at approximately 8:30 p.m., and four of those nine went missing.

The vehicles taken were brand new and have never been previously registered. They are two 2014 blue Toyota Rav 4 SUVs, one 2014 grey Toyota 4 runner SUV and one 2014 bronze Toyota Tundra pickup.

Keys for the vehicles were scooped out of an inside lock box.

One of the employees actually saw two of the vehicles leaving the lot around 6:45 a.m., Tuesday, but didn't think anything of it, because vehicles are always being picked up and dropped off. It was also dark at that time in the morning, said fixed operations manager Tony Whiles.

Nor has anything like this ever happened before in Penticton Toyota's 35 years in business.

Whiles said the value of the vehicles taken is probably around $160,000.

"It leaves me with a kind of sickening feeling, and it's obviously time to revisit all the security systems and move forward, so we can stop this from occurring," he said. "When thieves want something they have a way of getting it."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Penticton RCMP at (250) 492-4300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.