FILE PHOTO-Princeton RCMP have a mystery on their hands after a man claiming to represent Interior Health called on an elderly woman and went with her on a drive last week.

(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)

Princeton RCMP are scratching their heads trying to understand a motive following a bizarre incident in the community last week in which a man claiming to represent an Interior Health official took an elderly woman for a test drive.

Princeton detachment commander Sgt. Rob Hughes says police initially received a call from the woman the day after the incident, on March 27 at around 11 a.m.

The woman, born in 1937, told police a man called her the day before, stating he worked for Interior Health and wished to meet with her to do an ‘assessment' on her.

“He said he would meet her at 2 o’clock but he got there about 1:30 in the afternoon. She lives in an apartment so he buzzed her, came up to the apartment and stood at the front entrance. He never came inside,” Hughes says.

The man displayed an Interior Health identification card and made a point of telling the woman he did not represent ICBC, Hughes said in a telephone interview today, March 30.

He asked the woman to take him on a drive so he could observe her ability to go for a drive and remember how to get home.

The two went for a short drive and returned to the apartment after the man asked her to demonstrate her parallel parking skills.

He then walked away, telling the woman his car was parked on another street.

“It’s absolutely bizarre,” Hughes says.

The RCMP have contacted Telus but the inbound call came from an unknown caller and unless the recipient presses 'pound 57' immediately after the call, it can’t be traced.

“We didn’t get the call until the next day and by then the woman had received and made numerous other calls. We talked to Interior Health, and they say it wasn’t them. Community emergency services in Princeton says it wasn’t them,” Hughes says.

“We don’t know what the motive for doing this was, but we would like to find out. My first thought was he lured the woman away from her apartment in order for someone else to rob her, but she inventoried her belongings and nothing seems to be missing,” Hughes says.

“My caution to people is as more people are at home, thieves are probably going to have to come up with more innovative ways to steal from people. There’s always a chance this person was legit, we don’t know,” he says.

The man is described as 30 to 40 years old, wearing a grey suit with a surgical mask and gloves, and carrying hand sanitizer. He is a Caucasian male, six feet tall, of average build with brown hair.

Hughes is asking members of the public who may know something about the incident to call the Princeton RCMP detachment at 250-295-6911, or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, if wishing to remain anonymous.

Hughes would also like to hear from the suspect to find out what his motive was.

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