Police find truck driver who went missing after theft of 50,000 cans of beer

Tue Aug 24, 5:44 PM ET

CHRIS MORRIS

WOODSTOCK, N.B. (CP) - More than a week after thieves in New Brunswick made off with about 50,000 cans of Moosehead beer from the back of a transport trailer, police have tracked down the truck's driver in Ontario.



Wade Haines, 30, disappeared Aug. 17 after his truck was found with its engine still running and most of its cargo gone in Grand Falls, N.B.


Two investigators from New Brunswick, responding to a tip reported Monday, found Haines in the southern Ontario community of Lindsay.


Police had earlier said Haines was not considered a suspect in the case, but they did want to speak with him.


"He is a person of interest," said Sgt. Gary Cameron of the RCMP in New Brunswick.


"We are speaking with him. He is not under arrest. No one is under arrest."


Cameron said Haines did not have any beer with him when he was found. He said Haines should be able to fill in the blanks about the beer heist that has dominated news in the province for the past week.


"We are interviewing him to learn the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the beer."


Earlier in the day, police said they recovered at least 5,000 cans of the stolen suds from a farmer's field on the outskirts of Woodstock in western New Brunswick.


The cans had spilled from a makeshift trailer after it broke free from a Ford pickup that was hauling the illegal load towards Woodstock on Monday night. The pickup sped away from the scene.


On Tuesday, the pungent aroma of beer still hung in the air as Donna Larson explained that her husband, Owen, was in the field when he saw the accident.


"We hope the bull doesn't get into it and get tight," Larson said.


The Larsons called the RCMP immediately after the crash, knowing the hunt was on for the hijacked Moosehead beer, one of New Brunswick's best-known brand names.


The beer, which uses the fitting slogan "the Moose is loose," is a lucrative export for the province.


The shipment was supposed to be headed for the Mexican market via the United States.


Since the theft, people have been quick to alert police when stolen cans have surfaced, mainly because much of the labelling is written in Spanish.


Two empty cans were found earlier this week along a Fredericton sidewalk. Later, two more cans were found north of the city.





Cameron said he doesn't think the culprits put much planning into the caper.

"It's a crime that lacks sophistication," Cameron told reporters as he stood in front of a Woodstock dumpster filled with the recovered beer cans.

"I think if they had known the labels were in Spanish, they probably wouldn't have gone ahead."

No arrests have been made.

Cameron said it's clear the thieves are trying to unload the beer in large lots. He said it's likely the main bulk of the stolen shipment is in the vicinity of Fredericton, an hour's drive south of Woodstock.

He said he is surprised more beer hasn't turned up.

"I would have thought we would have found the beer a lot faster because it's really hard to hide that amount of cans of beer, plus they're so easy to identify," he said.

The retail value of the stolen beer is estimated at about $75,000.