Man arrested after firing flares, threatening police in wild B.C. boat chase: RCMP

Officers continued their pursuit for more than an hour until the suspect allegedly ran the fishing boat aground and was promptly arrested. (Handout)

A 25-year-old man in British Columbia has been arrested after allegedly leading police on a wild chase in a stolen fishing boat, firing flares at the pursuing officers and threatening them over the vessel’s marine radio.

Police located the fishing boat near the northern B.C. community of Prince Rupert on Monday, one day after the vessel was reported stolen from Port Hardy, more than 400 kilometres away on Vancouver Island.

Two RCMP vessels attempted to intercept the boat at sea, but the operator refused to stop, according to a statement from the RCMP’s West Coast Marine Services division.

“The situation quickly escalated, becoming increasingly dangerous as the boat operator then allegedly tried to evade police while on the water in the dark, including firing flares at police and attempting to ram a responding police vessel,” the statement said.

“The operator of the stolen boat was also using the boat’s VHF radio to allegedly threaten police.”

Officers continued their pursuit for more than an hour until the suspect allegedly ran the fishing boat aground and was promptly arrested.

“This was a dynamic situation that endangered everyone on the water, including the suspect, responding officers, and all other marine traffic,” said Cpl. Jeff Haney, the acting sergeant with the West Coast Marine Services division.

“We are glad this situation was safely resolved with the suspect being taken into custody, and nobody getting injured,” he added.

“There was a high level of risk involved given the area and the unpredictable actions of the boat operator.”

Mounties say their investigation into the incident is ongoing and charges will be recommended against the suspect.

The fishing boat has since been recovered from the shore, police said.