Charges are pending against a St. Albert man whom RCMP arrested for stealing a polar bear skin rug in Canmore, worth an estimated $30,000.
The St. Albert resident, who cannot be named until charges are laid, is facing charges of break and enter and theft over $5,000.
Around 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 4, Canmore RCMP responded to a call that the window of a motor vehicle parked on Canmore’s main street had been smashed. The complainant reported that a suspicious man was walking away with what appeared to be a bearskin on his head.
Officers followed the man – who was wearing a polar bear skin rug over his head – and arrested him after a short pursuit on foot.
Upon further investigation, it was determined that the main window of a new retail business in downtown Canmore had been broken into around the same time. Police suspect the man entered and stole the bearskin rug.
Sgt. Ryan Currie of Canmore RCMP estimated the bearskin to be between six and eight feet in length.
“I saw it sitting on a chair and it was pretty big,” he remarked. “The head was intact. It was a big one.”
Currie also noted that the man was under the influence of alcohol at the time of his arrest.
The St. Albert man will make his first court appearance in Canmore on March 26.
