Olson drove an excessive amount and always changed rental cars. He travelled over 20,000km in three months, driving 14 different rental cars. Olson came to Vancouver Island in 1981, where he burglarized two Victoria homes before heading north to Nanaimo where he picked up two young women hitchhiking. Roughly three hours later, Olson was found on a dirt road just before the Long Beach exit with the two girls passing a bottle around. He tried to flee the scene but was arrested at the road block. Police charged him with impaired and reckless driving. Upon searching his rental car, they found a green address book with the name Judy Kozma, a 14-year-old New Westminster girl, written inside. Olson had been interviewed about the disappearances of 10 southern BC children, and said he would provide information for a payout of $100,000.
On July 30, 1981 Clifford Olson met with Detective Tarr at a White Spot Restaurant where Olson said, to a hidden microphone, he would be hired to release information for a salary of $3,000 a month. He left the restaurant as detectives watched him amble out into the sunshine. Based on Levin and Fox's typology, Clifford Robert Olson would be considered a thrill-killer. One who seeks power over those who are weaker. Even when he was caught, Olson sold the bodies to the police for some feeling of power over them.