A Victoria man who went on an overnight hike on Mount Arrowsmith near Port Alberni returned to find his car windows smashed and the body riddled with bullet holes.
Brodie Frehlich and his partner, Anna Planedin, parked the 2008 VW Golf just off Cameron Mainline, the logging road that leads up to the mountain, on Friday night and hiked up for an overnight camping trip.
On Saturday morning, they found the car pocked with bullets, with most of the windows shattered and the tires blown out.
Frehlich found .22 calibre shell casings on the ground.
“Just seeing the bullet holes and shells everywhere was just shocking and unsettling,” he said.
“What if someone was sleeping in the car, or if we were coming down at the time? It was potentially a pretty dangerous situation.”
Frehlich called Port Alberni RCMP about 9:45 a.m. on Saturday and a call taker said an officer would call him back. The couple waited over an hour and didn’t hear back, so Frehlich called again. About 40 minutes later, an RCMP officer called.
“He was polite and sympathetic, but he wasn’t going to come out or anything,” Frehlich said. “It was kind of disappointing they weren’t more responsive.”
Frehlich called for a tow truck. His father, who lives in Port Alberni, drove the couple home to Victoria.
Cpl. Jen Allan, spokeswoman for Port Alberni RCMP, said police would typically respond to such an incident. “Without speaking to the investigator, I cannot advise the circumstances related to why we did not.”
Allan said the incident will be featured on the Crime Stoppers segment on local radio all week. “And with the increased media attention, perhaps someone with information will come forward, so we can identify [those] responsible.”
Allan said that kind of “malicious damage” is not common in Port Alberni.
Rudy Kurath, the owner of Alberni Towing who responded to the call, said he hasn’t seen a similar case of vehicle vandalism recently, but several years ago, it was a major problem.
“About six years ago, it was pretty common for cars to get shot up or set on fire,” Kurath said. “We’d go up there for vandalized vehicles quite a bit. There’s so many kids who go up there with quads and party.”
Kurath said officers from Port Alberni RCMP were at the towing yard on Monday inspecting the bullet holes.
The culprits didn’t steal anything, even though Frehlich had left his wallet in the unlocked glove compartment and expensive camera gear in the trunk.
“I’m assuming it was just random vandalism.”
Frehlich has started a claim with ICBC and the incident will likely cost him a $1,000 deductible.
“It’s not going to stop me from hiking, but I’m definitely going to be a bit more cautious and reluctant,” he said.
