P.E.I. musician gets stolen car back
P. E. I. musician Adam MacGregor has his vehicle back — and it didn’t cost him a cent.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Kevin Baillie told The Guardian this week that the RCMP have made arrangements to pay all fees associated with the towing and impounding of the vehicle, and have returned it to its owner.
Macgregor’s car was stolen from the Grand Victorian in Victoria-by-the-sea, where he was getting set to play at the New Year’s Eve show. Macgregor left the keys in the ignition because he couldn’t find a place to park and wanted to make it easy for security to move it if they had to.
At the time it was stolen, all Macgregor’s musical gear, as well as his wallet and cellphone, were in the vehicle. He had gone into the Grand Victorian to scope out the place before unloading his gear. When he came out, his vehicle was gone.
Luckily, the vehicle was impounded indoors and the music gear in it wasn’t subjected to the frigid outdoor temperatures.
The RCMP did allow MacGregor to pick up his music gear and personal belongings the next day, before the musician played a gig at the Old Triangle in Charlottetown.
Baillie said as a result of a citizen report, the vehicle was stopped in Stratford and the driver arrested for impaired driving.
“At the time of the stop, the officers involved were not aware that the vehicle had been stolen, and processed it as they normally would,’’ Baillie said in an email. “When the vehicle was reported as stolen, the officers were able to verify that it had been.’’
Baillie said the RCMP take responsibility for the delay in making arrangements to have the impound vehicle lifted and returned to Macgregor.