Two men are in custody after they ditched a stolen truck on Highway 5 near Helmer Road and tried to hitch hike out of the area on Thursday.
Merritt RCMP and Central Interior Traffic Services received a call at about 4 p.m. on April 10 of a possible stolen Ford F350 travelling northbound on Highway 5. The caller told local police he was following the vehicle which he’d thought was stolen from his employer in Kamloops earlier in the week.
Police checked and confirmed the F350 was stolen.
They set up a road block on Highway 5 at Highway 97C and prepared a spike strip.
As the truck approached, police tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver managed to avoid the spike belt and fled at a high rate of speed.
For public safety, police ended the pursuit there but alerted Merritt RCMP members who were located north of Merritt, Logan Lake RCMP and RCMP Air Services.
The vehicle was found a short distance from Highway 5 and Kamloops RCMP Police Dog Services tracked the suspects from the vehicle to their location near Helmer Road.
The men, who police say are not from the area, were arrested for possession of stolen property over $5,000 and driving offences.
They’re being held in custody until they appear in court. The investigation is ongoing.
