Seven motion-sensor wildlife cameras used to monitor the urban deer population have gone missing from Oak Bay.
The Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society, which is running the vaccine inoculation pilot program, reported the cameras were removed between Dec. 5 and 14.
“The cameras were located at several different public properties throughout Oak Bay,” said Oak Bay Police Sgt. Manuel Montero.
The cameras are described as brown Bushnell trail cameras with UWSS.ca engraved on them.
UWSS has cameras actively hidden around Oak Bay to monitor the ongoing Urban Deer Research Project in collaboration with the Oak Bay municipality. Each camera is worth about $250. Prying them from a tree or post is no easy task, said Kristy Kilpatrick of the UWSS board.
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Each camera is locked in place and removal requires bolt cutters.
“We’re really puzzled, we’ve recently lost nine in total of the motion cameras that are being used for the research project,” Kilpatrick said. “We’ve have had one or two taken over the past two years, but just one-offs, this is a concerning problem.
The file remains under investigation. Anyone with any information can reach out to info@uwss.ca.
Oak Bay Police responded to 74 calls for service during the week of Dec. 14 to 20.
One of those was a large but injured buck spotted walking gingerly on Uplands Golf Course with an arrow sticking out of its leg.
B.C. Conservation officer Peter Pauwels said the buck was last spotted Saturday night. Anyone who spots the buck can report its whereabouts and time of location to Oak Bay police or B.C. Conservation’s RAPP line, 1-877-952-7277, or #7277 for Telus mobile customers.
Among the preventable concerns from last week was 12 abandoned 911 calls.
“If you miss-dial, please do not hang up; stay on the line and let the 911 operators know that you are okay so they do not have to spend time trying to call you back,” Montero said.
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On Dec. 14 a resident reported a large quantity of food missing. It was removed from the freezer they keep in the driveway of the home in the 2000-block of Chaucer Street.
On Dec. 16 police received two calls regarding fraud – an ongoing issue for Oak Bay residents.
In the first report, the caller said they received a phone call from someone claiming that they were from Shaw customer service who wanted to upgrade their cable system.
“The scammer asked the complainant to turn off his television for four minutes then turn it back on. The scammer then told the complainant that the upgrade didn’t work as their equipment was too old and they would get new free equipment from Shaw for the upgrade plus other discounts.”
The suspect then asked for personal information including the resident’s driver’s licence information and their social insurance number. At that point the resident suspected it was a scam and hung up.
The other case of reported fraud from Dec. 16 came from a resident in the 900-block of Monterey Avenue.
The resident had reportedly just opened a bank account at a VanCity branch in Victoria and shortly after, received a text message about setting up an online account.
Believing the text was from the bank, the resident went through the steps and it turned out to be a phishing ploy. The suspect used the information to transfer money from the account.
Anyone with any information on the above incidents can phone Oak Bay police at 250-592-2424 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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