Truck found days after jade boulder theft, but no sign of stolen rock

Jade boulder stolen in B.C. heist An unusual and brazen theft took place shortly before midnight Saturday night in Cache Creek, B.C.

Vancouver — Days after a massive jade boulder was stolen from outside a B.C. gift shop, police have recovered the truck and trailer believed to have been used in the heist.

Unfortunately, there is still no sign of the stolen rock, which is estimated to be worth as much as $50,000.

"Police are following up on several investigational avenues but hope the public can help," the RCMP said in a news release Tuesday. "A boulder of that size would be difficult to hide."

The boulder sat outside Cariboo Jade & Gifts in Cache Creek for nearly 50 years, according to shop owner Heidi Roy. Thieves took the nearly 3,000-pound rock sometime before midnight on Saturday.

"It's a landmark of Cache Creek," Roy told CTV News over the weekend.

"It's not only important to my family, but the community and the province as a whole."

Jade is the provincial gemstone of British Columbia.

According to police, a man drove a truck and trailer to the jade shop at around 11 p.m., then used an excavator that was on the trailer to snatch the boulder.

The truck left the area at around 11:50 p.m. heading east on Highway 1 toward Kamloops, the RCMP said.

Kamloops RCMP later found the trailer abandoned in the area of Deadman Vidette Road, about 32 kilometres off the highway. The truck was found by Chase RCMP on Monday.

Police have also learned both the truck and trailer were seen before the theft, at around 9:45 p.m. Saturday, in a hotel parking lot beside Cariboo Jade & Gifts.

Authorities asked anyone with information on the theft to call the Ashcroft RCMP detachment or Crime Stoppers.