Columbia Valley RCMP responded to 73 calls for service over this past August long weekend. A few of the more noteworthy calls are listed below.In addition to these calls, there were many more complaints police attended to involving alcohol-related offences, fights/assaults, noisy parties, erratic and/or impaired drivers, disturbances, mischief and vandalism.
August 3
A local male attended the detachment at 8 a.m. to report his work truck stolen. The complainant hand not used the truck since January because the heater wasn’t working. It could possibly have been taken over the weekend but he wasn’t sure. The keys were in the vehicle and two tires were almost flat. The vehicle is a 1999 Ford F250 pickup, green in colour, bearing B.C. licence plate 9686EW, and without valid insurance. Police are requesting anyone with information regarding this theft to contact them or Crimestoppers.
Volunteers of the local thrift store attended the detachment at 2:48 p.m. to report a theft from the donations left behind at the business. On July 31 at 10:23 p.m., surveillance footage shows two females going through the donations and taking several items. The females left in a red Chrysler Lebaron with a black top, the plate clearly visible in the surveillance tape. Police continue to investigate and are asking anyone with any further information to contact them.
At 4:24 p.m., Columbia Valley RCMP responded to a complaint of a two-vehicle collision that occurred .5 kilometres north of the Hoodoos Bridge on Highway 93/95 in Fairmont Hot Springs. A local male was driving north in his 1985 Ford Bronco, heading to Fairmont when his left front wheel came off at highway speed upon entering the corner before the bridge to the south. The tire and rim crossed the lane and hit a southbound 2006 Pontiac Pursuit, damaging the headlights, grill, hood and radiator. The female driver of the Pursuit reported some whiplash. The male driver had already secured his spare tire and rim on his truck and took full responsibility.
At 5:20 p.m., several residents of Edgewater contacted police to report possible shots fired around the 4800 block of Riverview Drive. They reported hearing gun shots over the last couple days, and thought it might be an automatic weapon or someone skeet shooting. Police were also informed that fireworks have been heard over the past few days in the same area. Police patrolled the area but did not hear or see anything.
August 4
At 2:42 a.m., Columbia Valley RCMP were dispatched to the T-Bar pub in Panorama for a complaint of an motor vehicle incident involving a possible impaired driver. Checks on the registered owner of the vehicle indicated outstanding warrants out of Clearwater, B.C. along with several out of Alberta. The 33-year-old Alberta vehicle owner was located, arrested, and returned to Invermere detachment cells where he was held pending a bail hearing.
At 9:36 a.m., several complaints were received from Windermere residents reporting thefts overnight from their vehicles — all unlocked. Items stolen ranged from credit cards and cash to expensive electronic devices such as laptops and cameras. Police are reminding vehicle owners to lock their vehicles.
At approximately 4:21 p.m., a single motorcycle motor vehicle accident with a lone female rider from Alberta was reported north of Kootenay Crossing on Highway 93 in Kootenay National Park. The female rider was traveling southbound at approximately 100 kilometres per hour approaching a curve and went into a slight speed “wobble” causing her to travel straight off the highway into the ditch area in which she crashed. She sustained moderate facial injuries including abrasions and lacerations. She was transported to the Invermere & District Hospital via EHS for treatment. The motorcycle sustained damage to the front fairing and left side.
August 5
A Canal Flats resident called the RCMP at 6:46 a.m. to report a motor vehicle accident at her residence. She said that she heard a loud noise at 1 a.m. and at 6:46 a.m. she left her house and found a blue Pontiac car crashed through her fence. Police attended and learned that the vehicle belonged to a 18-year-old Windermere male. Police found the registered owner’s cell phone in the passenger seat of the vehicle along with the keys in the ignition. The vehicle was towed from the scene. The vehicle owner was asked to attend the detachment and provide a statement. He did so and told police that he went to a party and was drinking heavily. He admitted to driving intoxicated away from the party to the elementary school, where he went for a walk and fell asleep in the park. When he woke up his vehicle was gone. He advised that he has multiple witnesses to verify that his vehicle was missing. The male was charged under drive without due care and attention due to his admission of driving while intoxicated.
At 4:01 p.m., a female visiting from Kelowna called the RCMP to report that a man in a light blue semi truck with “R105” on the back with a B.C. marker of 4GE4577 just tried to lure two ten-year-old girls into his truck. The woman stopped and the man left eastbound on Highway 93. The woman gave the girls a lift to their residence where their mother was. The woman provided no address for the residence, and no details of the girls except their age. The plate provided by the woman was not a valid plate number due to the number of characters. A request was forwarded to southern Alberta detachments to be on the lookout for the described semi truck.
August 7
At 3:27 a.m., a Fairmont man reported a non-injury hit and run in the 5000 block of Wills Road in Fairmont Hot Springs involving three vehicles in total. A blue 2002 Chevrolet pickup registered to a 20-year-old Cranbrook woman travelling at excess speed eastbound on Wills Road onto northbound Hot Springs Road lost control while taking the left turn, striking a utility pole and a parked Oldsmobile which in turn struck the vehicle parked next it, a 2000 Toyota Camry. Registered owners of the latter two vehicles stated the driver had fled, returned and fled again prior to police arrival. The Cranbrook female later attended the detachment to report the incident during regular business hours. She was issued violation tickets for No insurance and speed relative to conditions.
— Submitted by Cpl. Grant Simpson Columbia Valley RCMP