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February 09, 2021 - 6:30 PM
A nurse at Ponderosa Lodge in Kamloops is concerned for her safety after her vehicle, and other employees, have become targets of mischief.
The nurse, who declined to be named as she was concerned about repercussions with her employer, said staff vehicles at Ponderosa Lodge, overseen by Interior Health, have been repeatedly targeted for months. Nails and screws are continuously being found in the tires of staff vehicles.
On Saturday, Feb. 6, she found a screw in her tire after working a night shift.
“Co-workers of mine had to replace all four tires,” she said. “There have been 20 plus people that have gotten nails in their tires… a co-worker of mine has been targeted seven times.”
She hopes to see increased security at the location by speaking out and wants to feel safe at work.
“It’s so scary, I’m nervous to go to my car at work, I’m nervous about what I’m going to find,” she said.
She said Interior Health needs to take more steps and support staff.
The health authority has said it doesn't own or manage the parking lot in question, but has reached out to staff to explore alternative parking options.
Crystal Evelyn, media liaison with the Kamloops RCMP, said police have received reports about nail incidents at the lodge dating back to October 2020.
“The report (in October) involved three separate occurrences in which nails were allegedly placed behind a vehicle's tires. At the time of the report, no surveillance was available. Without any leads, the file was closed, but then reopened shortly after when surveillance became available,” she said.
The RCMP has since received surveillance footage showing a man with a limp wearing dark clothing with a white stripe, approaching a vehicle, she said.
“Since then, the file has remained open and police are still actively working on identifying the individual observed in the footage. If the person who reported the incident would like to further discuss details of the investigation, they are welcome to contact Kamloops RCMP and reference their file number,” she said.
In November, incidents were reported again to the RCMP.
The most recent incident was reported on Jan. 22 and has been added to the original investigation, she said.
If anyone has information on this file, or may have been a victim and has not yet reported it, please contact the Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3193, she said.
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