A dispute on a Via Rail train, a luggage tractor theft and a chase through the woods behind Jasper Park Lodge has resulted in charges being laid against a Fort Saskatchewan man.

Blair Barber, 30, was charged with one count of theft over $5,000 and one count of possession of stolen property after he was caught topless, shoeless and sopping wet by Trefoil Lake last week.

According to police, Barber allegedly was kicked off of a Via Rail passenger train around 2 p.m. on June 15 after he was found without a ticket.

“When the train was stopped, he got on. Employees at the train station asked him to leave the train,” said Jasper RCMP Cpl. Tony Dolhan.

After Via Rail employees contacted the police, Barber then allegedly stole a John Deere tractor used to cart luggage at the station and took it west out of town. Travelling at 40 km/hr on the tractor, he made his way west and eventually toward Jasper Park Lodge. 

The tractor was then abandoned by Lake Edith. Later Barber was spotted attempting to break into a cabin at JPL. He was able to take several items from the hotel.

Barber, who had lost his shirt and shoes by this point, then took off into the woods and followed the trail system behind the hotel, where RCMP officers, JPL security and Jasper National Park wardens attempted to find him. The search lasted nearly an hour before Barber was caught on the trail by Trefoil Lake around 4 p.m., still without shoes or a shirt. Alcohol was not a factor in the incident, Cpl. Dolhan said.

Barber will come to court on Aug. 12.