David Hurst, 65, is believed to have boarded a bus from Kamloops to Vancouver.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kamloops RCMP

A warrant for a repeat arsonist was issued after he was seen leaving Kamloops for the Lower Mainland.

Kamloops RCMP said David Glenn Thomas Hurst didn't return to his home on July 29 and violated parole conditions, leading to a Canada-wide arrest warrant, according to a news release.

Police didn't say why he was on conditions, but a Parole Board of Canada decision shows he is considered a long-term offender with more than 75 prior convictions.

The types of crimes are largely property-related and non-violent, but a 2020 parole board decision noted Hurst, now 65, has a penchant for arson.

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"In 2009, you set fires in a brush during a heat wave, resulting in a substantial risk to the public should the fires have gotten out of control. You also resisted arrest," the decision reads. "While there is limited violence in your past, you are a repeat arsonist."

It goes on to say he is more likely to set fires when he is "bored, angry, frustrated or experiencing stress."

The decision didn't detail the fire, but he was caught setting the fire in Peterson Creek Park. Police conducted a stakeout following a series of fires in the area, according to Kamloops This Week. He had become known in Vancouver years earlier as the "West End Firebug," according to the CBC.

Hurst, who has both physical and cognitive disabilities, has breached parole conditions twice before the 2020 parole decision, once admitting that he wanted "time away" from people at his Okanagan halfway house.

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Kamloops RCMP said he was last seen in downtown Kamloops around 1:30 a.m., July 29, but the investigation later found he was spotted in Merritt while on a bus to Vancouver.

Hurst is Indigenous with grey hair and brown eyes. He is 6'4" and 124 lbs. Police said he uses a red and black wheelchair and he was last seen wearing a cowboy hat, brown boots, black pants and a brown jacket.

Anyone who sees him is asked to contact their nearest police detachment or Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000.

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