Police seek man video-recording woman using toilet

Outhouse-style washroom at Beaver Lake

Saanich Police are seeking the public’s help as they search for a man suspected of covertly videorecording a woman while she was using a toilet at Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park.

The incident occurred on Tuesday just after 9 a.m., when a woman using an outhouse-style washroom at the south parking lot noticed a light shining up toward her.

When she looked down, she saw a GoPro-style camera that appeared to be attached to a selfie stick. It appeared to be coming from a washroom stall backing onto hers.

The victim screamed and alerted two other women who were waiting outside the washroom. They saw a suspect leave the stall and head west on a trail towards Beaver Lake Road.

“This is an extremely disturbing incident,” said Saanich Police spokesman Jereme Leslie.

“Officers from our patrol division and our canine unit attended immediately and attempted to locate the suspect.”

While the initial search was unsuccessful, officers from Saanich Police’s forensic identification section went to the scene and collected potential evidence, he said.

The suspect was described as a white man in his late 20s to early 30s, about 5-foot-10 with an athletic build.

He has short dark brown hair and looked clean-cut with a possible beard.

He was wearing a green T-shirt, darker coloured shorts and running shoes.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact Saanich Police or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 to leave information anonymously.