The RCMP also announced Wednesday that the investigation has been taken over by its Major Crimes Special Projects Unit, which released a thermal image of a suspect along with video showing that a security guard was nearly injured during the most recent incident in September 2020.
Authorities said the security guard was “within seconds” of being struck by one of the massive cables that hold up the gondolas, and were severed in both acts of vandalism.
Cpl. Chris Manseau said investigators are pursuing a charge of mischief endangering life – a criminal count that can lead to a life sentence – and urged anyone with information on the person or people responsible to come forward.
“We know that there are people out there with information that could assist police with this investigation,” Manseau said.
“What’s important to remember here is that someone nearly lost their life.”
In August 2019, lines at the Sea to Sky Gondola were deliberately cut for the first time, sending the attraction’s cable cars crashing to the ground. About 75 staff members were laid off as a result of the attraction being forced to close.
The gondola reopened in February 2020 after more than $5 million in repairs, then temporarily closed due to COVID-19 in March. The attraction reopened with new health-and-safety measures in May.
But on Sept. 14, 2020, the attraction’s security team alerted police to another act of vandalism. A technical report later confirmed the cables were deliberately severed for a second time.
The gondola opened again the following June. Around that time, Kirby Brown, general manager of the Sea to Sky Gondola, told CTV News Vancouver security became a “preoccupation” for the operators.
“I used to say I run a tourism business and now I run a security operation, and that’s both sad and true,” Brown said. “We’d all feel better when they catch these individuals or the individual.”
