THE RCMP want to know why 19 Subarus have been stolen from the streets of North Vancouver, only to reappear a few days later within a six-block radius of Kingsway and Edmonds in Burnaby.
So far, 19 late-'90s or early-2000 model Subarus have gone missing - the latest overnight on Nov. 16 - and all but the most recent have been found undamaged in Burnaby. Other than that, there's no apparent connection.
"You got to wonder right?" said Corp. Richard De Jong, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP. "It's going to be interesting once we do catch this person."
The thefts began in January of this year, but police didn't notice any pattern until several months later, said De Jong. The only damage to the cars is in the ignition area, stemming directly from the theft, and De Jong said the cars don't appear to have been used in any other criminal activity, but simply abandoned a few days later.
All areas of North Vancouver have seen cars go missing except for the Lonsdale corridor, and so far they haven't found a connection with stolen cars in other municipalities.
De Jong didn't know why only those model year cars were stolen, but admitted that immobilizers on newer cars, which prevent the car from working without a key in the ignition, may be part of the reason. It's especially puzzling because Subarus aren't usually a target of thieves, he added.
"The Subaru doesn't even make the top 10 of the most stolen, so it's unusual," De Jong said. "There's numerous Subarus throughout the North Shore. We have no idea if there's going to be another targeted vehicle."
De Jong believes someone knows the answers to the riddle, however, and is appealing for help - as well as warning Subaru owners of the possible dangers. Police are also working with Burnaby RCMP and IMPACT, the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team.
"I can only imagine someone has some bragging rights out there in terms of the number of Subarus they've stolen from the North Shore, and they're sharing that with somebody."
As of last week, the latest stolen Subaru hadn't been recovered yet, but at least De Jong said they know where to look.
"We've already been out there," he said. "It usually takes a day or so to show up."
tholloway@nsnews.com
