Noah D’Eon got into his car to do his weekly grocery run last week and quickly realized something was wrong.
He started up the car and it sounded like a race car, he said, and the engine exhaust was coming out the side in a billow of smoke next to the car doors.
The Mount Allison student took the car to a local mechanic, who quickly identified the problem: someone had stolen the catalytic converter.
The mechanic’s diagnostic report confirmed the exhaust pipe had been cut and the catalytic converter taken away, said Noah’s mother, Danielle Lavigne D’Eon.
D’Eon filed a report with the RCMP and campus security, as the car was parked in a university parking lot by his residence.
RCMP told him someone can get upwards of $200 for the part, said D’Eon, noting he posted about the incident in a group with fellow students in his residence to warn others. No other cars were vandalized, he said.
Since the incident he said he has taken steps to avoid a recurrence, such as parking his car in more populated areas of the parking lot rather than at the edge.
It is just bad luck, he said.
RCMP Cpl. Brian Villers said the theft of the catalytic converter, was reported on March 20 and occurred between March 17 and 19. He said parts are often sold for the valuable elements they contain.
No similar incidents have been reported lately in the Greater Sackville area, he said.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Hans Oulette said the theft of catalytic converters is a Canada-wide problem. There have been several incidents in Ontario, Quebec, as well as New Brunswick, he said.
In February, Southeast District RCMP investigated a number of converter thefts in eight communities, but none of these incidents were in the Sackville area.
“Securing your vehicles in a locked building, when possible, or parking them in a well lit area are some of the easiest ways to deter these types of thefts,” said Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh in a news release.
Clara Pasieka, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Telegraph-Journal
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