Bowden resident Joanne Teuling got a nasty surprise as the long weekend came to an end.
She had been visiting her sister-in-law in Thorsby, near Leduc.
Someone had cut out the left-hand corner of her vehicle's licence plate, including the year sticker.
Her son discovered the problem.
“I was throwing my cooler in the trunk and he said, ‘mom, look at your plate,'” she says. “I've heard of stolen plates (but not this).”
Olds RCMP Cpl. Michael Black says whatever the case may be elsewhere in the province, cutting out the corners of licence plates doesn't seem to be an issue here so far.
“This is not a problem in the Olds area,” he says.
Black says it's hard to say what is driving that kind of crime.
“There is not much that the public can do to prevent this,” he says. “When possible have the vehicle parked in a garage or other secure building or near some video surveillance.”
Teuling ended up renewing her plates, a bit earlier than her regular date in the fall.
