An Airdrie resident whose Bayside home was burgled on New Year’s Day is disappointed after local police said they are not able to proceed with the investigation.
Peter, whose last name is being omitted to help protect his identity, said his house on Bayview Street SW was broken into and robbed the early morning of Jan. 1, while he and his family were out of the country. He said various household items were stolen, as well as the family’s two vehicles.
“They came in through the side door…they stole the second set of keys for the cars from my bedroom and they drove the cars away,” he said, adding money was also stolen.
After a neighbour notified Peter on Jan. 1 that his vehicles were no longer in the driveway, he said he instructed the neighbour to notify the RCMP, who responded later that evening. He and his family returned home shortly afterward.
But according to Peter, on Jan. 6, the RCMP notified him they would have to halt the investigation due to a lack of evidence.
The resident disagrees there is not enough evidence to proceed with an investigation, as his doorbell camera showed someone appear on his doorstep at around 1:27 a.m. the night of the burglary. He said a neighbour’s security camera captured footage of his wife’s car being driven down the street shortly afterward.
“For someone to be at the door around that time when they’re not invited and we’re not around is suspicious,” he said.
“I believe in this time, that person should at least be identified because the camera clearly caught his face.”
Adding to the case’s potential leads, according to Peter, was news that came Jan. 1, when RCMP officers apprehended an individual in Airdrie for driving a stolen vehicle. While the vehicle was not one of Peter’s, he said RCMP notified him that items found within it were among the possessions he reported stolen from his home.
“We identified those properties and I was telling the police, ‘if someone has the majority of items that came from our house, it would seem that person should at least give you information where they got the property from,’” Peter said. “That’s enough of a lead to at least try and get to the bottom of who did the burglary.”
Airdrie RCMP Media Relations Officer Cpl. Gina Slaney confirmed officers were called to a report of a break-and-enter on Bayview Street at approximately 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 1.
She disagreed with Peter’s claim the officers gave up on the investigation.
“We don’t ‘drop’ cases, but sometimes you get to a point where you’ve exhausted all investigational avenues and there’s nothing further that can be done,” she said. “With regards to this, the investigating officer did a really good job, as far as I’m concerned upon my review of the file. There were neighbours who had surveillance footage, but in all that surveillance, [we] could not ID the person responsible for the break-and-enter.
“There’s not much more that could be done to try and determine this.”
According to Slaney, the male who was driving the stolen vehicle with Peter’s household items was charged with possession of stolen property. However, she added there wasn’t enough proof to link the stolen vehicle with the burglary on Bayview Street.
“Just because someone is in possession of stolen property does not mean you can prove they actually committed the break-and-enter,” she said.
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
