Pam Wright Lauren Phillips lost everything in the Fort Mac fire. Returning to her hometown to regroup, the Sarnia native didn’t expect to lose even more while at the beach in Canatara Park.
Pam Wright
Lauren Phillips lost everything in the Fort Mac fire.
Returning to her hometown to regroup, the Sarnia native didn’t expect to lose even more while at the beach in Canatara Park.
Phillips parked her Ford Focus hatchback at “the cove” parking lot in the park’s northwest corner around 4 p.m. on July 21.
When she returned an hour later the rear window was smashed and her purse gone.
“After losing everything you own, it hurts,” the Alberta resident said. “I felt violated. I didn’t sleep.”
The oilfield administrator’s purse containing a vehicle key and her difficult-to-replace work lanyard was stolen.
And Phillip’s car wasn’t the only one targeted by brazen thieves that day. Three others had rear windows smashed and items taken.
“They had to be quick,” Phillips said, adding she finds it strange the crime occurred in broad daylight.
“It’s odd to me that nobody saw anything. I think people don’t want to get involved,” she said.
Substitute teacher Sian Olver had a similar experience last month at the same parking lot.
Olver, who splits her time between Sarnia and Tecumseh, had her locked car’s rear window smashed between 7:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. while she went for a walk.
Her purse was stolen along with all her identification — including the passport she needs to travel stateside to Windsor for work.
“I grew up here and I never worried about things like this,” Olver said.
After reporting the incidents to police, both women searched Canatara for their missing items without success.
The two also learned on social media of several other instances at Canatara in which car windows were smashed and items stolen.
Phillips wants to see better security at the park.
“I hope they at least start controlling it. These are people’s belongings and we work hard for them,” she said.
Sarnia Police Const. Nelson Amaral of the Community Services Division said the problem isn’t confined to Canatara.
“We’re very aware and doing what we can,” he said, adding he encourages citizens to report any suspicious activity.
Plainclothes officers, bike patrols and the use of a UTV (utility task vehicle) are some of the tools police are using, he said.
Residents reported 140 vehicle break-ins in May and June of 2015. This year reported break-ins over the same period jumped to 158, an increase of 13%.
While not blaming victims, Amaral said prevention is the best strategy. Stowing items away securely and out-of-sight is always the best option, he said.
