> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thecanadareport.ca/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # West Kelowna RCMP Investigate Cat in the Hat Prank Incident - URL: https://www.thecanadareport.ca/cat-in-hat-chase-west-kelowna/ - Published: 2026-09-10T17:00:41.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-10T17:03:33.000Z - Description: Cat in the Hat chase prompts a West Kelowna RCMP investigation after a teen safely escapes and police seek camera footage. - Author: Steve Cogbill - Tags: Daily News, British Columbia | Sourced from 5 independent sources (6 reports) · no points in dispute | | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | News10, Internewscast, CBC, Dexerto, and Castanet Every key fact in this report is confirmed by more than one independent source. 8 key facts · 8 corroborated · none disputed Why some reports were counted once Internewscast and News Finale — the same report, published near-identically, counted once. When several outlets publish the identical article — often because they ran the same wire-service story — we count it as one source, not several, so the count reflects independent reporting rather than how widely one story was republished. This summary is compiled from the independent sources listed above. A teenage girl in West Kelowna made it home safely after reporting that she had been chased by someone dressed as the Cat in the Hat, a strange and unsettling incident now under RCMP investigation. The reported chase happened around 9 p.m. on Aug. 24 in the 2000 block of Shamrock Drive in West Kelowna, British Columbia. Police have released imagery of the costumed person and are asking the public to help identify who was behind the outfit and what happened that night. ## A strange report on Shamrock Drive West Kelowna RCMP say they are investigating a report that the teen was walking in the community when she was chased by a person dressed as the Cat in the Hat. The girl got away and returned home safely. The person in the costume has not been identified. That unresolved detail is now at the centre of the investigation. Police are trying to determine who the person was, what took place, and whether the reported behaviour crossed a legal line. The imagery released by RCMP has become part of the appeal for information. Police are asking people in the area to check whether their cameras captured anything that could help investigators piece together the incident. ## Police warn about prank risks RCMP have made a distinction between wearing a costume and using one in a way that frightens or threatens someone. Police said wearing the Cat in the Hat costume is not, by itself, an offence. But they also said following or chasing someone in a way that causes them to reasonably fear for their safety can constitute criminal harassment. “Regardless of whether the individual intended the behaviour as a joke, following a young person and causing them to fear for their safety is extremely concerning,” Cpl. Devon Gerrits of the West Kelowna RCMP said in a statement cited in the source reporting. Gerrits added: “People should understand that behaviour intended as a prank can have serious consequences when it causes another person to reasonably fear for their safety.” The warning lands in the uncomfortable space between internet humour and real-world fear. A costume that might read as absurd online can look very different to a young person walking at night who believes they are being pursued. ## Wider Cat in the Hat trend The West Kelowna report comes amid a broader social-media trend involving Cat in the Hat hoaxes, AI-generated images and threatening posts that have prompted law-enforcement and school responses elsewhere. That wider context does not answer what happened on Shamrock Drive. RCMP have not identified the person in the costume, and police are still working to determine the circumstances of the reported chase. Still, the backdrop matters. The trend has involved online material built around the familiar character, sometimes presented in ways meant to alarm viewers. Police and schools elsewhere have responded to threatening posts and hoaxes linked to that imagery. The West Kelowna case is different in one key way: police are investigating a report involving a real teenage girl who said she was chased while walking in the community. She got home safely, but the person in the costume remains unidentified. ## Investigators ask for footage West Kelowna RCMP are asking anyone with information to contact them. They are also seeking doorbell, dashcam or security-camera footage from the area around the 2000 block of Shamrock Drive at about 9 p.m. on Aug. 24. For investigators, even a brief clip could matter: a figure passing a driveway, a vehicle in the area, or footage showing where the costumed person went before or after the reported chase. Until the person is identified, police are left with the same basic questions the community now has: who was dressed as the Cat in the Hat, why were they there, and what exactly happened on that West Kelowna street after dark? **Reader-funded. No ads. 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[Support The Canada Report →](https://www.thecanadareport.ca/support/) --- [*Source 1*](https://www.news10.com/news/national/person-in-cat-in-the-hat-costume-chased-teen-girl-through-canadian-neighborhood-police-say/?ref=thecanadareport.ca) *|* [*Source 2*](https://internewscast.com/news/police-seek-cat-in-the-hat-costumed-suspect-in-teen-chase/?ref=thecanadareport.ca) *|* [*Source 3*](https://newsfinale.com/us/police-hunt-cat-in-the-hat-costumed-suspect-accused-of-chasing-teen-girl/?ref=thecanadareport.ca) *|* [*Source 4*](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cat-in-the-hat-prank-west-kelowna-9.7337550?ref=thecanadareport.ca) *|* [*Source 5*](https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/police-hunt-cat-in-the-hat-after-teenage-girl-chased-through-neighborhood-3407318/?ref=thecanadareport.ca) *|* [*Source 6*](https://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelowna/630631/West-Kelowna-RCMP-seek-person-dressed-as-Cat-in-the-Hat-after-teen-chased?ref=thecanadareport.ca) ## Sign up for The Canada Report Your modern digest of Canadian news. 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