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Anti-smoking protest giving woman the creeps

Dead snake, motor oil, rotting seafood among items left on rock where woman takes cigarette break
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Motor oil was another of the more than 30 items dumped on the rock. (Photo submitted)

Bizarre offerings and cryptic messages have put a chill into a Saanich womansa国际传媒檚 cigarette break.

Michelle Schile came across the first token back in January, when she found the rock she sits on for her cigarette break covered in mud and manure.

On that January day, Schile went down to the large boulder at the side of the road behind Lochside elementary school, like shesa国际传媒檚 been doing for the past 18 years. She found the rock, located down a bank near the Lochside Trail, had been covered with mud and manure.

sa国际传媒淚 cleaned it off, then the next time I went down there was more mud, so I thought, sa国际传媒極K, this is getting weird,sa国际传媒 said Schile, who works at the school.

And it only got weirder from there, as the surprises kept coming sa国际传媒 sometimes every few days, sometimes after a break of a week or two. A can of soup, garbage, motor oil, a dead snake.

sa国际传媒淚t got so disgusting, and I got tired of cleaning it up,sa国际传媒 said Schile, who called Saanich public works to bring absorbent to soak up the oil.

sa国际传媒淭he last time it was so disgusting, it was really gross. He must have scraped the bottom of his boat, because there were barnacles, crab legs, mussel shells. It was crawling with flies and stunk to high heaven. You can just imagine rotten seafood in the sun, it was really disgusting.sa国际传媒

She contacted police but was told there was little they could do about the incidents.

Sgt. Jereme Leslie confirms Saanich Police were contacted about the incident, but said there was no damage done to the rock and police have been unable to identify a suspect.

sa国际传媒淎s it stands now the essential elements of the offence have not been met so it doesnsa国际传媒檛 meet the threshold of harassment as outlined in the Criminal Code,sa国际传媒 said Leslie, adding police have concluded the file.

But Schile wasnsa国际传媒檛 ready to let it go, placing a camera in the bush focused on the rock. After weeks of positioning and repositioning the camera, she finally captured a photo of the legs and torso of who she describes as an older man.

sa国际传媒淛ust cause I was mad, I wrote out on a piece of paper the definition of petty and the definition of passive aggressive, laminated it and left it there.sa国际传媒

She said the note disappeared, before returning a couple weeks later with a message on the back.

sa国际传媒淚t said he is part of a cycling group and there have been six smoking-related deaths in the group. His wife died of cancer. He said we wonsa国际传媒檛 foul your reading rock if you donsa国际传媒檛 foul our air. Now I know itsa国际传媒檚 directed at me,sa国际传媒 said Schile, adding she checked with CRD to make sure she wasnsa国际传媒檛 in violation of clean-air bylaws, and is carefull to not leave any cigarette butts behind.

She says more than 30 items have been left at the rock, the latest coming at the end of June when a dead snake greeted her at the rock. Police have advised her not to leave any more notes for the man, who had been responding on B.C. Coroners Service stationary. Schile just wants the situation to end, and hopes someone using the Lochside Trail might have observed someone placing items on the rock.

sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 know what he looks like. He could cycle by me every day, itsa国际传媒檚 creepy. Every time a cyclist goes by, Isa国际传媒檓 like, sa国际传媒業s it you?sa国际传媒 Hesa国际传媒檚 just a nut job and he needs to be stopped.sa国际传媒

editor@saanichnews.com

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A can of paint was among the items dumped onto a rock near the Lochside Trail where a Saanich woman sits during her cigarette break. Photo submitted


Dan Ebenal

About the Author: Dan Ebenal

Throughout my career, I've taken on roles as a reporter and editor in more than a dozen newsrooms across the province.
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