LAC LA BICHE - More than a dozen RCMP vehicles set off a corridor of red and blue flashing lights on Dec. 12 along a stretch of Highway 55 just west of Lac La Biche. RCMP say they were in the process of capturing a suspected vehicle thief.
At around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, RCMP vehicles were lined along the hard-shoulder of the highway for more than a kilometre between the Airport Road and the entrance to the Sentinel Industrial Park. Several police vehicles with lights flashing could also be seen in the yard of a business in the area, Savailin Welding, about two to three kilometres west of downtown Lac La Biche. Other police cars lined the westbound hard-shoulder of the highway, blocking in a three-quarter ton pickup truck with body damage that was in the ditch.
A police dog services team was also walking along a stretch of the highway fence lines, while other police vehicle lights could be seen on roads in the industrial park and along an access road to the nearby Lac La Biche Airport property.
Stolen truck followed
RCMP Corp. Mathew Howell told the Lac La Biche POST newsroom that police had been tracking the GPS signal of a truck that had reportedly been stolen from the Westlock area earlier in the afternoon. He did not have an immediate answer about the reason for the large police presence.
Howell said one suspect had been taken into custody at the scene, but charges had not yet been laid.
Howell said more details about the incident may be available as more information is collected in the ongoing police investigation.
The police presence slowed down traffic on the busy highway during the drive-home time, but did not cause any detours.
At this time, RCMP are reporting no injuries during the arrest.
Lakelandtoday.ca will have more information when it become available.
