VANCOUVER -- Police on Vancouver Island are looking for the owner of a set of tools that was seized during a vehicle stop earlier this week.

A Nanaimo RCMP officer stopped the rented vehicle, a 2020 GMC Acadia, on Howard Avenue around 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, police said in a news release.

The tools were sitting "in plain view" on the rear seat of the vehicle, according to police.

"Neither the male driver or his female passenger were listed on the rental agreement and neither could offer a reasonable explanation as to where the tools originated," Nanaimo RCMP said in their release. "Additionally, the vehicle was one day late in being returned to the rental agency."

The officer had the vehicle towed and informed the rental agency of its location. The tools were seized on the belief that they had mostly likely been stolen, police said.

Despite checking serial numbers, police have so far been unable to identify the owner of the tools. One of them is engraved with the name "Mitch," police said.

The tools seized include:

  • A Milwaukee Fuel 18V Band Saw with the letters TTI written on it, which police describe as a "very unique tool"
  • A Ramset Mastershot fastener
  • A Magtorch cutting torch kit
  • Snap-on tools automotive compression gauge set
  • A Longacre digital caster camber gauge
  • An Extech laser photo/contact tachometer
  • A Longacre tire gauge and temperature reader
  • A heated knife
  • A Dewalt toolbox with a variety of less-expensive hand tools
  • An HDMI cord and a USB cord

Nanaimo RCMP ask anyone with information on who owns the tools to call their non-emergency line at 250-754-2345 and quote file number 2020-42349.