Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2025 

File: 25-19290 

Victoria, B.C. – It’s not every morning you see a four-and-half-meter tall wheel loader cruising down the highway, but that is exactly what happened yesterday. 

On May 27, just after 5:30 a.m., the manager of a business in the 500-block of Gorge Road East called police to report a break and enter. About an hour earlier, someone had made off with a Caterpillar 966 Wheel Loader, a massive piece of heavy machinery. 

The suspect drove the bright yellow loader through the business’s exterior fence. The machine has a big front scoop, making it hard to miss. 

Around 6:45 a.m., someone spotted the loader cruising northbound on the Patricia Bay Highway near McTavish Road.  

Sidney RCMP joined the search, and just after 7:30 a.m., officers located the excavator, parked and occupied by one man, at Swiftsure Place and James White Boulevard in Sidney. 

One person was arrested by RCMP, handed over to VicPD, and taken to Victoria Police cells. Police are investigating the incident, which caused a stir but fortunately resulted in no injuries.

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