Beaver Valley manager Lance Waterhouse got more than he bargained for early Tuesday morning when he disrupted a break and enter in progress at the family-run business.
“I came in one door and he ran out the other,” Waterhouse recounted of the run-in, as members of the RCMP’s forensic identification unit were on hand gathering evidence at 8:30 a.m.
Waterhouse said the incident occurred at about 5:30 a.m. at their South Mackenzie Ave. store when he arrived early to work.
“When I opened the door I heard the cow bell we have on the other door and I looked back out and saw him running,” Waterhouse said. “You’re not really expecting that.”
Waterhouse called 9-1-1 and police responded quickly and apprehended a suspect a distance away near the overpass on Highway 20.
“The RCMP did a great job. They are amazing.”
Waterhouse said it appeared the thief tried to get in through the front door but failed and ended up gaining access by pushing out a mesh screen window in a bay door.
Williams Lake RCMP Staff Sgt. Del Byron confirmed a 37-year-old male from Redstone was arrested in relation to the break and enter.
“This male was arrested on a previous break and enter some time ago where he was released on a curfew,” Byron said.