Man charged in theft of Delta family’s beloved 22-year-old vehicle

An alleged car thief has been charged after a Delta family’s beloved, 22-year-old SUV was stolen from outside their home.

Earlier this month, The Province published a front-page story about a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder that had sentimental value to the Braun family of North Delta. Ralph and Helen Braun bought the SUV new at a Vancouver dealership in 1996.

They drove it to and from their wedding and to and from the hospital when their sons were born. In recent years, the teenagers used it to learn how to drive. They made their dad promise to never, ever sell it.

But on March 2, the family woke up to find the Pathfinder gone.

After reporting the theft to Delta Police, the Brauns followed up on tip after tip until March 9, when one of the sons’ 18-year-old friends spotted the SUV at a stoplight in Surrey.

Spokesman Cpl. Scotty Schumann said Surrey RCMP received a call from the family friend around 8:30 a.m. when he spotted the vehicle near 124th Street and Old Yale Road.

The detachment’s Auto Crime Target Team was deployed and members soon spotted the SUV near 108th Avenue and 132nd Street. The team then called the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team and the Lower Mainland’s Air 1 police helicopter for assistance.

“The vehicle drove erratically, forcing other vehicles off the road,” Schumann said.

Air 1 pursued the SUV until the suspect abandoned it and tried to hide in a home on Bentley Road.

Officers arrested a man alleged to have been in the SUV, 19-yearold Kyle Robert Davies of no fixed address, without incident.

Davies is charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, dangerous driving, possession of tools for breaking into a vehicle, driving while prohibited and breach of probation.