A man and woman from Ladysmith were arrested last week after being caught on surveillance breaking into a property in Youbou, near Lake Cowichan.
On December 23rd, owners alerted police to their recreational property on North Shore Road, after spotting two suspects on video surveillance stealing items from the property.
Arriving officers located a suspicious vehicle in the area and when they pulled the vehicle over, the male driver exited the car and began to run into the cold snowy forest.
The female passenger remained on scene and was arrested without incident.
It took RCMP and a police tracking dog two hours to locate the man and once captured, he was transported to hospital for cold exposure.
Once medically cleared, he was brought to the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment for a bail hearing.
The 36-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman, both from Ladysmith, are facing criminal charges related to the break and enter.
“The Lake Cowichan RCMP would like to remind recreational property owners to check their properties frequently throughout the year and to report any suspicious activity to police right away,” said RCMP Island District spokesman Cpl. Alex Bérubé.
