'It's hard': Nanaimo junior football team suffers 3rd theft in 2 years
The Vancouver Island Raiders junior football team is reeling from another expensive theft, after much-needed sports equipment was swiped in late May.
The theft occurred sometime between May 21 and May 22 at the team's equipment room at 110 Wall St. in Nanaimo.
Staff told police that they were at the property on the evening of May 21, and when they returned at 5 p.m. on May 22, the door to the building had been broken.
It's the third time the Raiders suffered a theft in the last three years.
Mounties say 20 Nike-brand footballs, five travel bags, two helmets, two football cleats, and an unknown number of team jerseys, girdles and game pants were stolen in the theft, as well as a range of tools and other equipment.
"These items are really noticeable," said Nanaimo RCMP reserve Const. Gary O'Brien.
"They've got the logo on the shirts, the sweaters, the girdles, the cleats, everything," he said. "We are hoping the public can help us and get it back."
"They don’t have a lot of money to work with, shoestring budget, and they do a lot for the community," O'Brien said of the Raiders.
Similar thefts occurred in August 2022, when an estimated $50,000 worth of equipment was stolen from the team's practice facility, and again in September 2021, when an estimated $15,000 worth of gear was swiped from its facility in Comox.
"[We] work so hard to do all this stuff and every time we turn around there's something… it just knocks us back down again," said Greg Peacock, board member of the Vancouver Island Raiders on Friday.
"It's hard, and it's hard to go back to the community," he said.
Police say there's currently no suspects or witnesses to the crime. Anyone with information is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
'Miscommunication' Liberals say of Speaker Fergus event invite Conservatives call partisan
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Winnipeg trial hears admitted serial killer searched web for serial killer definition
The trial of a Winnipeg man who has admitted to killing four women has heard he searched the internet to look up the definition of what it means to be a serial killer.