Mounties say a person or people who took an excavator for a wild joyride near Shawnigan Lake caused as much as $25,000 in damage.
The damage was reported to Shawnigan Lake RCMP on Tuesday after one or more suspects started up the machine at a job site just west of town.
Police said they dug three five-feet-deep holes spanning the length of the road, dropped trees on the road, damaged a bridge over an active stream and caused enough damage to the excavator until it couldn’t run.
It happened sometime between 5 p.m. on Dec. 14 and 7 a.m. Dec. 15, RCMP said.
The act of vandalism caused around $25,000 in damage to industrial equipment owned by Island Timberlands and sub-contractors, they said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Shawnigan Lake RCMP at 250-743-5514 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
