A man is alleged to have assaulted horses at a BX farm overnight Friday, Jan. 23.
Abigail Equestrian, a professional training facility on L&A Road in the BX, released surveillance images of the suspect on social media in hopes of identifying him.
“Last night he was in with my horses in the middle of the night and assaulted some of my horses,” said Erica Van Meenen, owner, on Saturday.
She confirmed with The Morning Star that it was a sexual assault.
“He raped at least one horse and that was caught on video surveillance.”
The Vernon North Okanagan RCMP is investigating after being called at 1 a.m. Jan. 24 that a person was trespassing on a rural property in Vernon.
The individual fled from the property prior to officers arriving. An RCMP Police Dog Service team and officers conducted an extensive search of the area but were unable to locate the suspect.
Investigators reviewed security video from the property to determine what the man was doing on the rural property. The footage revealed a criminal offence had occurred within an enclosed animal pen on the property.
“A social media post related to this incident has received significant public attention and has resulted in a large volume of information being provided to police,” said Const. Chris Terleski, media relations officer. “Investigators actively reviewed this information, and a suspect has been identified. The investigation remains ongoing.”
The Vernon North Okanagan RCMP thanks the public for their assistance with this file.