RCMP have now confirmed that the fires that occurred at the wharf in Back Bay late last week were deliberate acts of arson.

Members of the Eastern Charlotte Fire Department responded to a call at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday about a vehicle on fire at the wharf. However, upon arrival, they discovered that a commercial fishing boat was also engulfed in flames and fire had also been set to a building owned by Kelly Cove Salmon at 24 Back Bay Loop Rd. The building fire was extinguished before it sustained significant damage. 

The vehicle, a pickup truck, and the fishing boat, known as the Maritime Queen, were both completely destroyed by fire with the boat still being doused with foam by firefighters seven hours after the fires began when CHCO was the first news outlet to arrive on scene. Interestingly, the boat and the truck that were destroyed by arson are owned by different individuals, deepening the mystery surrounding the incident and the motive of the perpetrator.

RCMP have determined that the fires were set intentionally by one individual, who arrived and left the scene on foot.

Authorities have distributed a photo of a suspect described as wearing a dark hooded jacket, jeans, gloves, and rubber boots. They are urging anyone with information to contact the St. George RCMP at 506-755-1130 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at crimenb.ca.

The investigation is ongoing, with RCMP officers combing the area for evidence. Police dogs were brought in to aid in the search for clues and a forensic team also dusted for fingerprints. 

CHCO-TV reached out to the RCMP with multiple interview requests but no one was made available for comment. Meanwhile, the community remains on edge as they grapple with the unsettling news. Stay tuned to CHCO as we continue to cover this developing story.

A significant policy change is now in effect for New Brunswick's policing agencies, specifically concerning fuel thefts.

Over the past few years, there has been a steady increase in fuel thefts at service stations across New Brunswick, resulting in thousands of calls to police and yet only 6% of these complaints resulted in charges.

In response to this alarming trend, the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police (NBACP) and the New Brunswick RCMP have collectively decided that as of last week beginning on April 15, policing agencies are no longer responding to fuel theft unless there is an immediate or ongoing threat to public safety. RCMP also sent out letters to mayors across New Brunswick advising them of this decision, which CHCO-TV obtained, and they have also informed the retail industry across the province.

Research has shown that in provinces and territories where retailers have implemented "pay before you pump" options or made pre-payment mandatory, incidents of fuel thefts have been essentially eliminated. Gas stations, therefore, are encouraged to implement pre-payment options in light of this policing decision.

Here are some statistics that went into this decision:

From 2020 to 2023, police agencies in New Brunswick received more than 5200 complaints of fuel theft.

These complaints resulted in over 18,000 hours of police time spent dealing with these incidents.

The "cleared by charge" rate for these files is approximately 6%, meaning only 6% of these complaints resulted in charges. 

Most cases had insufficient evidence to proceed, some cases saw the money collected, or retailers did not want to proceed with charges.

It's important to note that while policing agencies will no longer respond to fuel thefts, retailers can still report these incidents to agencies offering online reporting services for the purposes of documentation. Whether this will result in an uptick in fuel related crimes has yet to be seen. 

-Vicki Hogarth, CHCO-TV NewsBreak26, Back Bay, New Brunswick