Series of traps along in B.C. coast hooked woman to tree, almost decapitated cyclist

[Lockout Casualty]

Series of traps along in B.C. coast hooked woman to tree, almost decapitated cyclist

VANCOUVER — After a season in which the forests of Coastal B.C. have been found laced with an unusual number of tripwires, obstacles and outright booby traps, the region’s outdoor class are taking to the woods with a keen eye for the handiwork of saboteurs.

“At this point, we’re telling hikers and runners to be extra-vigilant,” said Cpl. Richard De Jong, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP.

Last Tuesday, 52-year-old hiker Chris Beveridge was running along a Grouse Mountain trail in North Vancouver when her leg became caught in a wire tied to a tree.

“Some people don’t want dogs on this trail, and I am very suspicious that this was the purpose for it,” she wrote in a letter to Postmedia.

The incident occurred within two kilometres of the spot where, in late May, a labradoodle was injured when it bit into a set of barbed hooks baited by cow kidneys and suspended from a tree.

The dog’s owner reportedly found the animal hanging from the trap, and required the assistance of nearby hikers to remove the hooks caught in its mouth.

And in early June, across the Salish Sea in Victoria, mountain biker Derek Kidd got his neck snared by a rusty wire strung along a popular forest trail.

The 26-year-old suffered a nasty cut across his throat, but quick braking ensured that he escaped without any serious injury.

“We’re sort of hyper-sensitive right now because of that incident,” said Dan Cammiade, president of the South Island Mountain Bike Society. “You can’t always take it for granted that things will always be the way you remembered it.”

However, Mr. Kidd, an employee at Victoria’s Oak Bay Bicycles, remains relatively unmoved.

“I’m a bit more wary of being hit by the brush overhanging the trail,” he said. “I don’t think it’s really affecting people’s ride quality too much.”

In both Ms. Beveridge’s and Mr. Kidd’s case, the offending wire had been lying on the forest floor for years; a rusting relic of the area’s industrial past.

“It appeared to be intentional, either to distract or cause harm to an animal or a person,” said Cpl. De Jong. “We’d ask the public to report anything suspicious in that area to police.”

On Vancouver Island, observers still think Mr. Kidd’s wire could be the work of natural forces.

“It’s hard to know just how it ended up in that position,” said Mr. Cammiade of the wire that hit Mr. Kidd. “It could have been the result of a tree falling due to wind.”

Sgt. Steve Eassie, a spokesman with the Saanich Police, similarly told Postmedia after the incident that it appeared the wire had not been set by “malicious intent.”

Nevertheless, Mr. Kidd said he has since been contacted via Facebook by a horseback rider who said she had discovered similar traps in the area where he was struck.

“On two separate occasions last year she found two separate wires at neck height along the trails,” he said.

Forest sabotage, while rare, is not at all unprecedented to the West Coast.

Last year in Chilliwack, a community just one hour east of Vancouver, an eight-year-old girl was clotheslined by a wire intentionally strung across the entrance to a trail.

“Police believe the person that strung the wire had the intention to harm someone,” Cpl. Tammy Hollingsworth of the Chilliwack RCMP said at the time.

The year before, a pipe bomb was found on the edge of a multi-use trail outside the interior B.C. city of Merritt. Rigged to a cattle gate, the bomb was set to explode if the gate was opened.

Elsewhere on the Pacific Coast, an Oregon psychiatrist was recently handed a 30-day jail sentence for stringing nylon ropes along national forest trails and booby-trapping trailside trees with small nails.

Dr. Jackson Dempsey, who has since been relieved of his job at the local Jackson County Health Clinic, apparently took issue with mountain bikers interrupting his dog walks.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/23/series-of-traps-along-in-b-c-coast-hooked-woman-to-tree-almost-decapitated-cyclist/

It never even occurred to me that someone could do something like this. Just seems so out of left field for someone to booby-trap a forest trail. I can usually at least understand the motivation, but these people are just evil. I hope those responsible get struck by lighting from the hands of Zeus himself. Assholes.

[The Brahma Bull]

Wow, very creepy. Kinda reminds me of a Criminal Minds episode from a few years ago.

[The Magician]

I would sue them so hard...

[Lockout Casualty]

I would sue them so hard...

[canucks#01fan]

Wow thats scarey. They are very lucky to be alive

[naslund.is.king]

I would sue them so hard...

[Offensive Threat]

I used to know a guy at work, quite a while ago, who would be the type to do this sort of thing. He keyed cars and things like that. Straight up jerk. Im sure there are a few others like him around.

[Jordan Subban]

I used to know a guy at work, quite a while ago, who would be the type to do this sort of thing. He keyed cars and things like that. Straight up jerk. Im sure there are a few others like him around.

[Blackberries]

booby trappers are cowards.

[xWCMx]

People aren't just boobey-trapping trails for their own twisted enjoyment. Believe it or not, the fur trade that many of you heard about in history class is still alive and well today. Animal traps and other things of the sort are a big problem in BC currently, and not just for unsuspecting bystanders. Not only do pets, children and adults find themselves ensnared more frequently in traps intended for animals, but the animals themselves are being trapped, some times with broken legs or backs, for days or weeks at a time, forced to attempt to chew a leg off or face starvation. Anyone who enjoys the products made by Canadian Goose, or any other fine fur practitioner, should first learn the grim truth behind the act itself.

[Buggernut]

How are these people not terrorists?

[AllEyezOnMe]

Wow, very creepy. Kinda reminds me of a Criminal Minds episode from a few years ago.

[Papayas]

We live in Canada,not USA.

[prana16]

To play devils advocate here.

In the bike scenario.. first, most reports don't believe the the wire was set like that.. its an old wire that would be expected to be in that forest. Personally, based on that and the perfect hollywood garroting this guy seemed to have gotten in his pictures, even though he claims he saw it and braked.. didn't hit him in the face, chest he didn't duck didn't turn his body just perfectly around the neck, a random biker of a random height and bike size??? really .. hard time buying it.

second. This was not a biking trail.. if he is travelling fast enough to almost decapitate himself without being able to stop, what happens when that is a hiker walking around the bend instead of a wire. Biking trails should be designated (and i'm in support of creating lots) and bikers should stick to them.

Similar to point two above.. baiting traps for animals is f#$%ed up ... BUT there have also been instances where people think because they are in the woods its ok to go off leash. when your dog or two or three starts bolting at a random hiker from out of no where and you are around the corner out of sight, don't be surprised when your dog(s) is perceived as a threat, don't be surprised when some old lady has a heart attack because of it, don't be surprised when your dog gets pepper sprayed or kicked.

devils advocate... many bikers and many dog owners are horrible trail users

[Pouria]

Series of traps along in B.C. coast hooked woman to tree, almost decapitated cyclist

VANCOUVER — After a season in which the forests of Coastal B.C. have been found laced with an unusual number of tripwires, obstacles and outright booby traps, the region’s outdoor class are taking to the woods with a keen eye for the handiwork of saboteurs.

“At this point, we’re telling hikers and runners to be extra-vigilant,” said Cpl. Richard De Jong, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP.

Last Tuesday, 52-year-old hiker Chris Beveridge was running along a Grouse Mountain trail in North Vancouver when her leg became caught in a wire tied to a tree.

“Some people don’t want dogs on this trail, and I am very suspicious that this was the purpose for it,” she wrote in a letter to Postmedia.

The incident occurred within two kilometres of the spot where, in late May, a labradoodle was injured when it bit into a set of barbed hooks baited by cow kidneys and suspended from a tree.

The dog’s owner reportedly found the animal hanging from the trap, and required the assistance of nearby hikers to remove the hooks caught in its mouth.

And in early June, across the Salish Sea in Victoria, mountain biker Derek Kidd got his neck snared by a rusty wire strung along a popular forest trail.

The 26-year-old suffered a nasty cut across his throat, but quick braking ensured that he escaped without any serious injury.

“We’re sort of hyper-sensitive right now because of that incident,” said Dan Cammiade, president of the South Island Mountain Bike Society. “You can’t always take it for granted that things will always be the way you remembered it.”

However, Mr. Kidd, an employee at Victoria’s Oak Bay Bicycles, remains relatively unmoved.

“I’m a bit more wary of being hit by the brush overhanging the trail,” he said. “I don’t think it’s really affecting people’s ride quality too much.”

In both Ms. Beveridge’s and Mr. Kidd’s case, the offending wire had been lying on the forest floor for years; a rusting relic of the area’s industrial past.

“It appeared to be intentional, either to distract or cause harm to an animal or a person,” said Cpl. De Jong. “We’d ask the public to report anything suspicious in that area to police.”

On Vancouver Island, observers still think Mr. Kidd’s wire could be the work of natural forces.

“It’s hard to know just how it ended up in that position,” said Mr. Cammiade of the wire that hit Mr. Kidd. “It could have been the result of a tree falling due to wind.”

Sgt. Steve Eassie, a spokesman with the Saanich Police, similarly told Postmedia after the incident that it appeared the wire had not been set by “malicious intent.”

Nevertheless, Mr. Kidd said he has since been contacted via Facebook by a horseback rider who said she had discovered similar traps in the area where he was struck.

“On two separate occasions last year she found two separate wires at neck height along the trails,” he said.

Forest sabotage, while rare, is not at all unprecedented to the West Coast.

Last year in Chilliwack, a community just one hour east of Vancouver, an eight-year-old girl was clotheslined by a wire intentionally strung across the entrance to a trail.

“Police believe the person that strung the wire had the intention to harm someone,” Cpl. Tammy Hollingsworth of the Chilliwack RCMP said at the time.

The year before, a pipe bomb was found on the edge of a multi-use trail outside the interior B.C. city of Merritt. Rigged to a cattle gate, the bomb was set to explode if the gate was opened.

Elsewhere on the Pacific Coast, an Oregon psychiatrist was recently handed a 30-day jail sentence for stringing nylon ropes along national forest trails and booby-trapping trailside trees with small nails.

Dr. Jackson Dempsey, who has since been relieved of his job at the local Jackson County Health Clinic, apparently took issue with mountain bikers interrupting his dog walks.

http://news.national...itated-cyclist/

It never even occurred to me that someone could do something like this. Just seems so out of left field for someone to booby-trap a forest trail. I can usually at least understand the motivation, but these people are just evil. I hope those responsible get struck by lighting from the hands of Zeus himself. Assholes.

[Keslerific]

i dont... i dont get it....

so in Canada we don't sue people?