$275,000 blueberry harvester stolen from Sumas Prairie property

ABBOTSFORD Police investigators are asking the public’s assistance to locate a large piece of farm machinery. Between September 30 and the morning of October 5, a 2016 Oxbo 7420 blueberry harvester was stolen from a farm located in the 40000-block of North Parallel Road.
This blueberry harvester was driven off the property after the front gate was removed from its hinges. The harvester, worth $275,000, is approximately 20 feet tall and takes up most of a lane of traffic. It is made of metal and has yellow painted stairs and deck.

As the blueberry season ended in mid-September, most of these harvesters have been stored for the season. It would be unusual to see one on our roadways this time of year, police noted.

Anyone travelling on Highway 1 or Sumas Prairie who may have seen this machinery, or who has CCTV, dashcam video or information about this investigation, is asked to contact the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225.

NOTE: According to Wikipedia, “Sumas Prairie is a landform in British Columbia, Canada, and the State of Washington, United States. Part of the Fraser Lowland, it was created by the draining of Sumas Lake early in the 20th Century, and extends from the Vedder Canal southwestwards into northern Whatcom County, Washington. All of its Canadian portion, except its northeasternmost area around Yarrow, which is part of today’s City of Chilliwack, was formerly the District of Sumas, which was amalgamated into the City of Abbotsford in 1972.”