Children are a bit chillier at an outdoor-focused preschool in North Vancouver, after a heater was stolen from their backyard play area.
Staff at Lynn Valley Preschool said they noticed the heater was missing in early December, as the winter weather set in.
The facility bought the heater in 2020, when the school switched to an outdoor-only program in response to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Since then, it was used as a place where the kids could warm up outside during the colder months, said preschool supervisor Elizabeth Reid.
“We went to put it on in December, and it had gone,” she said.
With only a low fence around the preschool’s outdoor area, it wouldn’t be hard for a thief to get in.
“But unless you really knew it was there, or you’d been in and you’d looked around, you wouldn’t see it,” Reid said. “It’s very dark up there. The heater was dark. It was kind of a dark, forest green and metal.”
Police appeal to public for more information
Because it was in a relatively obscure location and it had to be unscrewed from where it was installed, investigators believe it was not a crime of opportunity, said Const. Mansoor Sahak, spokesperson for North Vancouver RCMP.
“I’m not sure why the preschool was targeted,” he said. “The item does not have a high [monetary] value, but it means a lot to the children who use it to keep warm in the winter.”
At this point, police don’t have enough evidence to proceed further with the investigation, Sahak said, so the RCMP detachment is appealing to the public to come forward if anyone has any information about the incident.
Despite the stolen warming device, kids at the school are resilient, and continue to have fun outside even when it’s cold and wet, Reid said.
“We can use our winter clothes,” suggested Emerson, a four-year-old student, pointing to the empty space on the outdoor shelter where the heater used to be.
[email protected]
twitter.com/nick_laba
@nicklaba.bsky.social
