Prince George RCMP probing Christmas Eve arson, Christmas Day taxi-jacking

Mounties in Prince George are investigating a pair of serious crimes that took place around Christmas.

At 6:20 am on Christmas Eve, police were called to the scene of a fire at the Red Rock weigh scales on Hwy 97, south of the city.

The RCMP has deemed the fire suspicious and are trying to identify a pair of pickup trucks that were spotted leaving the vicinity as firefighters arrived at the scene.

“Police officers are also looking into orange spray-paint graffiti on a nearby sea-can that was, according to employees at the location, not there the previous day,” explained Cpl. Jennifer Cooper.

“The graffiti reads, ‘good job McCreadie.’ Police believe it may be related to several recent impaired driving investigations and that the graffiti and the arson are connected.”

The RCMP is also probing a car-jacking, in which the victim was a cab driver, that occurred late on Christmas Day.

According to police, the suspect was inside the taxi when they brandished a knife at the driver and demanded to be driven out of British Columbia.

“The taxi driver stopped in front of the airport and got out of the vehicle,” noted Cooper. “The suspect then got into the driver’s seat and drove away from the airport in the taxi.”

Fortunately, the taxi driver escaped the incident unharmed and his vehicle was found crashed into a ditch a short time later.

The suspect, who police have not provided any information on, had already fled the scene of the crash.

Investigators are hoping to speak with potential witnesses to the incident or anyone with dash cam footage of the orange taxi arriving at or leaving the airport.

Those with information that could aid investigators working on either of these cases are urged to contact the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300.