Thieves got away with thousands of dollars worth of camping gear from a local scouting troop.
Jeff Melvin with 1st Moncton BPSA says their trailer was broken into during the weekend of the storm.
“We received a phone call saying that our trailer had been broken into and we should come take a look at it right away. And when we arrived, it was looking quite empty. Most of our big gear was missing. That would include all of our four-season tents or hammocks, or troop stoves, individual stoves, all of our cookware that we would use to cook while we’re in the woods and some canopies and some big burners,” Melvin says.
The value is between $8,000 and $9,000.
He adds they were pretty concerned because this is prime camping season for the troop, “It definitely had us worrying a little bit because we have a camp coming up this weekend, and then another one in two to three weeks after that. We’ve had a pile of support, and we’ve gone out on a limb and we started to purchase new gear to rebuild and start with the basics just so we can ensure that we don’t interrupt the kids with their camping.”
The 1st Moncton BPSA troop has around 22 to 24 kids between the ages of 11 and 18.
The theft was reported to RCMP but Melvin says nothing has been recovered yet, “We’ve had a robbery in the past before but nothing to this calibre. It was shocking, and I was even sick about it at one point, and a little bit emotional,” Melvin adds.
He says they plan to take more precautions to hopefully ensure this doesn’t happen again, “Well, we thought the trailer was really quite secure to start with. It’s in a secure compound, and we were not the only people who were affected by this. We have some pretty heavy-duty locks on the trailer already to ensure that they don’t get cut off. But we’ve gone and purchased a couple of other pieces of gear to ensure that doors can’t be opened and so forth. We’re also looking at putting an alarm system that will reach out on a cellular basis to alert us.”
Melvin says the public has been very supportive already, with financial donations. A page has been set up for anyone who would like to contribute.
