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Police probe suspicious vehicle fire

NANAIMO – Parked Honda SUV set on fire on South Forks Road while owner out hunting.
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Police are searching for the culprit who broke into and set a 2003 Honda CRV on fire that was parked on South Forks Road on the weekend.

Nanaimo Mounties are investigating a suspicious vehicle fire from the weekend and hope the public can help lead them to a suspect.

The owner of a 2003 Honda CR-V parked the sport-utility vehicle on South Forks Road on Saturday at about 8 a.m. and went hunting for a few hours. While he was away, someone broke into the car and set it on fire, destroying the vehicle, valued at about $10,000, and its contents, which included two children's car seats, fishing rods and a wallet.

The wallet, emptied of its contents, was later found later some distance from the torched Honda.

Coastal Fire Centre reported the fire to police, but since the car was parked outside the city limits, firefighters were not dispatched to the scene.

Police arrived to find the vehicle still smouldering at about 10:25 a.m. A passerby told investigators he had seen the vehicle intact at about 9 a.m.

Police are hoping anyone who might have been in the area and saw anything related to this fire will pass along information to investigators.

"We've got a good time frame to work from and that's something the public can really help on, I think," said Const. Gary O'Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.