MAN HUNT--RCMP officers dressed in camouflage gather outside the Revelstoke detachment before deploying Wednesday morning.  Photo by Mike Thomas courtesy of Revelstoke Times Review.

MAN HUNT–RCMP officers dressed in camouflage gather outside the Revelstoke detachment before deploying Wednesday morning.Photo by Mike Thomas courtesy of Revelstoke Times Review.

A female RCMP officer was shot while conducting a police stop near Golden in the afternoon of Tuesday, October 11th.

The shooting occurred during a traffic stop near the weigh scales in Golden in connection with a possible vehicle theft. The suspect in the stopped vehicle, later identified as Sheldon Kyle Thunderblanket, failed to comply with police direction, shot the female officer, who reportedly experienced non-life threatening injuries, before Mr. Thunderblanket fled westbound in another stolen vehicle. The officer was taken to hospital to be treated for her injuries.

A warrant for Mr. Thunderblankets arrest was already out in connection with a murder in Little Pine Fire Nation, Saskatchewan that took place on Monday night.

Fearing that Mr. Thunderblanket was turning his car around to come through the area again, police instructed everyone who was stopped in their vehicles to take cover in the ditch for their safety, said Jeremy Passmore of Radium Hot Springs, who said he was about 30 cars back at the time of the shooting.

Mr. Passmore said people huddled together in the ditch for nearly two hours before the RCMP deemed it was safe to return to their cars and escape the cold fall air. He said it was an incredibly stressful time for all those involved.

It was frustrating because it was damn cold and a lot of families, young babies and mothers, didnt have quite enough warm blankets, he said. People were trying to share blankets and keep everyone warm, but it was very frustrating. There were a lot of people who were nervous and scared and didnt notice what was going on.

Police found the suspects vehicle about three kilometers east of Revelstoke and launched a major search with helicopters, dogs and tactical teams, closing off the Trans-Canada Highway for more than four hours while continuing to conduct vehicle searches.

At the time of The Pioneers Wednesday press deadline, it was confirmed by RCMP that Mr. Thunderblanket had been found dead near Revelstoke on Wednesday morning following an overnight manhunt. Check www.columbiavalleypioneer.com for updates during the coming week.