Alberni RCMP are hunting for a Caucasian male who robbed an 83-year-old man in his home in broad daylight.
According to an RCMP press release, police responded to a home in the 2800 block of Sixth Avenue on Monday at approximately 3 p.m.
There, they found the elderly male resident alone. The man told police that an unidentified male entered his residence and initially believed it to be an estranged relative.
Chek News has since identified the victim as Reino Koivunen.
The suspect played on the victim’s confusion, telling him that he was hungry. When the elderly man walked to the kitchen to get something, the suspect pushed him into a wall, ripped his wallet out of his back pant pocket breaking the chain, then ran out the front door.
The elderly man wasn’t injured.
Police have determined that the suspect was not a relative, but rather a random person.
The suspect is described as a Caucasian male with brown hair, standing slightly taller than 5'9" with a slender build. No age approximation was given however. "This is a bit of a problem for us so we're at a bit of a disadvantage," RCMP Cpl. Jen Allen said.
Also complicating matters is that the incident wasn't reported until 3:30 p.m. - three hours after the incident happened.
The brown leather wallet contained the victim’s identification and payment cards, and may still have several links of his chain attached.
The suspect was wearing dark clothing including one or more hoodies, the hoods of which were pulled up during the incident. He also had a hoarse sounding voice, not unlike that of a heavy smoker.
No similar incidents have been reported. "This is the first of its kind," for the Valley this year, Allen said.
Police are reminding residents to lock their doors at all times, and to prohibit strangers from entering their homes unless their identity/credentials and their intention is fully known.
Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-247-TIPS.
reporter@albernivalleynews.com