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Vandalism continues in Campbell River neighbourhood

After nearly a year with little progress, homeowner getting frustrated
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Security footage from the Hurd home shows a person running away from the home. Photo courtesy Duncan Hurd

After enduring vandalism and mischief for the better part of a year, a Campbell River resident is getting frustrated.

Though other houses in the area near Penfield School in south Campbell River have been targeted by vandals in some way, the Hurd family’s home seems to have gotten it worst.

Things escalated this spring when a fence was smashed on their property, followed a week later by a board being thrown through a second storey window. Now Duncan Hurd says that his wife woke to the sound of someone trying to get into their basement door.

RELATED: Vandalism escalating in Campbell River neighbourhood, resident says

“This Saturday night, my wife was awoken after midnight by a really loud bang on our basement side. We looked at the security cameras and saw someone running away. I suspect they had tried to enter, and then decided to give it a good kick and run,” he said.

“It is going on in our neighbourhood,” he said. “We’re the only ones that it’s happening to frequently. There are other neighbours that have fence panels around the corner that get kicked in once or twice a year, but not with the same severity of damage that we’ve seen.”

Hurd has been in contact with the RCMP about the vandalism. This spring, RCMP Const. Maury Tyre said that the police believe the people doing this are teenagers. Hurd agrees, saying that he does have security footage of a group of young people walking by his property, and another showing one of the group running away from his basement door. Hurd said he is frustrated with the lack of progress in identifying those involved.

“Getting any kind of information has been a long time out. It’s really hit and miss. The officer who responded on Saturday night seemed to not care or really engage with what was happening. That was really really frustrating and disappointing. However, we do have another officer that is helping,” he said. “It seems that all of the evidence that I’m attempting to collect is just never enough and it’s really frustrating being the only one doing this kind of work. I don’t really feel supported in what’s happening,” he said. “Campbell River isn’t that large and there’s not that many high school students, compared to larger centres. It’s just really frustrating that it’s likely one group and we’re able to get nowhere.”

Hurd and his neighbours have actually bonded because of the vandalism. Some have re-positioned cameras of their own to capture more of the Hurds’ property, and others have volunteered to come over in the evenings so that the family is not alone.

“It’s awful to feel so threatened and so randomly threatened… We’re relatively new to Campbell River and brand new to this neighbourhood. Our neighbours have been really welcoming and really supportive,” Hurd said. “That’s been the best of this worst situation. Everybody’s really supportive and they all have their own story of something happening.”

RELATED: Do you know where your kids were at 1:24 a.m.?



marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com

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