For the fourth time since mid-June, a North Shore Rescue cache of emergency life saving gear has been ransacked and vandalized The team learned Tuesday afternoon that the Norvan Falls cache had been broken into - the second time.
"We hadn't even restocked it yet. It's abuse. This is just crazy. It's absolutely crazy. We've obviously got a disturbed individual here," said an exasperated Mike Danks, North Shore Rescue team leader.
Danks renewed the team's plea for information that could lead to an arrest.
"We need the public's help to find this person and to get this shut down. It's a complete waste of our time and it's taxing our members," he said.
North Shore Rescue members were volunteering at the Kneeknacker Race on Saturday when Metro Vancouver parks staff notified them of the breakin of the cache at Lynn Lake - a four-hour hike through difficult terrain in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park.
"The first thing we were thinking is 'No, not again and it's at the busiest time of year for us.' We've been extremely busy and it couldn't come at a worse time from that perspective," said Doug Pope, North Shore Rescue search manager. "This is coming at a really bad time financially for us as well."
Much like the breakins at Hanes Valley and Norvan Falls in late June, thieves broke the lock, stole the camping, survival and rescue gear and damaged what they didn't take. NSR members checked all of their remaining caches after the first two were hit, meaning the thief or thieves continued to raid the life-saving gear even after widespread media attention and a police investigation into the first break-ins.
The latest loss is pegged at $5,000 on top of the roughly $20,000 it will cost to replace and repair the other damaged caches.
The team will also now have to tighten security on the remaining caches - going against the wishes of North Shore Rescue's late team leader Tim Jones, Pope said.
"Tim led our team in developing this network and I believe it was part of his plan not to lock these things down like Fort Knox because, you don't expect someone to stoop so low to actually steal rescue equipment," Pope said. "If a member of the public was in such dire conditions and really had to get in to save themselves, they'd be able to do that."
London Drugs announced a $10,000-donation last month but this week's loss only adds to the team's fundraising efforts.
"This is still a really big hit for us and we're asking for the public to consider donating at our website (northshorerescue.com)," Pope said.
