Submitted by  Sgt. Darren Kakuno
Detachment Commander
Columbia Valley RCMP

This past week March 29 through April 4, the Columbia Valley RCMP responded to 95 calls for service. The following is a summary of some of the files our officers responded to.

•On Monday, March 29, at about 3:30 p.m. Columbia Valley RCMP received a report of an abandoned 911 call coming from the Panorama Ski Resort. The call dropped before the cell number could be captured or any details could be provided. Panorama Ski Patrol was advised of the call and while searching the mountain for anyone in distress, ski Patrol members located a set of tracks leaving the resort area and entering an avalanche zone. Columbia Valley Search and Rescue was activated and a helicopter was dispatched to the area. A lone male was located from the air and a ground team accessed the area to escort the male back to safety. The male was uninjured. 

•On Tuesday, March 30, a break and enter was reported to a property on 12th Avenue in Invermere. Police attended the location and were told that two sheds on the property had been broken into. Missing was a Honda EB5000X generator, a Spray Tech paint sprayer, a Honda HHT35S weed eater, a Honda push lawnmower and two bows. Officers seized items for forensic examination. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Columbia Valley RCMP Detachment or Crimestoppers.

•On Tuesday, March 30, at about 11:30 a.m., Columbia Valley RCMP was advised that a green van failed to stop for a Cranbrook police officer and fled northbound. A Columbia Valley officer located the vehicle on Highway 93/95 near Canal Flats and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. However, the vehicle again fled from police. With public safety in mind, the officers made the decision not to pursue the vehicle, which was confirmed stolen out of Cranbrook. A short time later, a Columbia Valley Conservation Officer located the van abandoned on the side of Highway 93/95 near Spur Valley. A police dog handler attended the scene and conducted a track from the vehicle and successfully located an adult male. The male was arrested for possession of stolen property and flight from police. The male was also discovered to be prohibited from driving and had an outstanding arrest warrant. A 20-year-old male from Invermere was released on conditions to attend court at a later date. 

On Friday, April 2, a red 1998 Ford F150 and a set of keys were reported stolen from an industrial yard in Dry Gulch. The theft was believed to have occurred sometime on Wednesday night. On Sunday, April 4, the Ford F150 was located abandoned at the Sinclair Creek trailhead parking lot in Radium Hot Springs. The vehicle was seized and held for a forensic examination. 

•On Friday, April 2, at about 4:30 p.m., emergency crews responded to a report of a single vehicle collision on Armstrong Road in Radium Hot Springs. The driver of a Ford F150 had driven off the road and down an embankment then allegedly fled the scene. Officers located the alleged driver on a nearby property and noted signs of intoxication. The male was arrested for impaired driving and held in cells until sober. Upon release, the male was issued a 24-hour driving prohibition in addition to violation tickets for failing to remain at the scene of an accident, drive without due car and fail to keep right.

•On Saturday, April 3, at about 2:30 p.m. Columbia Valley RCMP was advised of a SPOT Emergency SOS activation for an injured snowmobiler north of Thunderwater Lake near Radium Hot Springs. Columbia Valley Search & Rescue was activated, who in turn, dispatched a helicopter to the location of the SPOT activation. The injured snowmobiler was located and flown to the Invermere airport where he was then transported to the hospital by ambulance with an arm and back injury. 

•On Sunday, April 4, a resident on 15 Ave. in Invermere reported the theft of a 2011 Silver Nissan Frontier, B.C. license plate KB0551, from his property sometime overnight. The truck has an aftermarket ARB bumper, a 6” lift and a headache rack. Residents are reminded to remove their keys from their vehicles and to lock their doors. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Columbia Valley RCMP or Crimestoppers.