Mounties honour Red Deer man for helping find hundreds of stolen vehicles

City Mounties are saying “Thank You” to a Red Deer man for helping them recover more than 400 stolen vehicles over the past two years.

Police say the citizen, only identified as “DM” to protect his anonymity that allows him to spot and call in so many stolen vehicles, is a professional driver who began helping RCMP after having his own vehicle stolen.

“I got raked over the coals for leaving it running with the keys inside. It was a lesson learned,” DM said after he posted about the theft on social media.

DM became involved in the Facebook group “Central Alberta Stolen Vehicles” and checks the page and other social media groups each day to see which vehicles are missing.

With the help of his photographic memory to keep track of models, colours and license plate numbers, he spots the vehicles and calls them in to police.

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“If I’ve seen it once, it’s almost guaranteed I’ll find it,” he says. “Often if a vehicle is stolen in the morning, I find it by afternoon.”

DM says stolen vehicle groups create a feeling of community that he gets angry when he sees people put down the police because they don’t see all the hard work they’re doing.

He enjoys working with the RCMP and the call takers, who have come to recognize his voice and name, and appreciate the courtesy he shows when he’s asked to follow the same call logging procedure each time he calls – which is sometimes several times a day.

Red Deer RCMP Supt. Ken Foster describes DM’s contribution as an extraordinary embracing of the idea that citizens are the eyes and ears of every community.

“This one individual has been an active part of the recovery of more than 400 vehicles over the past two years, and about half of those vehicles were occupied by criminals when RCMP arrived,” says Foster. “Not only has DM helped police return many stolen vehicles to their rightful owners, he plays an important role in helping us arrest many career criminals and put them before the courts. We’ve recovered firearms, drugs and large amounts of stolen identity documents from these vehicles. It’s astounding to see the positive impact that one person can have on a community. Red Deer RCMP commend his commitment to crime prevention and reduction and are grateful for his service.”

DM was honoured during a recent ceremony at the downtown Red Deer RCMP detachment.

(Red Deer RCMP)