Call cops, witnesses told

RCMP are urging the public to call when they witness a crime, no matter how small.

“Any sort of incidents,” says Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy. “If you see people breaking into cars, we get a lot of vandalism that people saw and no one told us about. Anything like that.”

“If it looks like there's a crime going on, by all means give us a call.”

“We have a lot of people who witness crimes in the Greater Vernon area and just don't think to call us. We need that information,” says Noseworthy. “It helps us to determine where we need to be at any given time and helps us catch criminals.”

But some people go beyond making a telephone call.

Police say a witness to the theft of a pickup on Sunday evening called police as she followed the stolen vehicle.

“RCMP were notified that a community member was following a 2001 Dodge Dakota ... that she had just witnessed being stolen from a parking lot at 2401 58th Ave.,” reports Noseworthy.

“A blonde Caucasian woman and an unknown man were in the vehicle. The vehicle was abandoned in a parking on 43rd Avenue a short time later, and the suspects fled on foot.”

RCMP prefer witnesses don't place themselves in danger, but Noseworthy says "in this case, there is no indication that they realized anyone had seen them.”

Police are appealing for anyone with information to call the RCMP or CrimeStoppers.