By Sgt. Bob Vatamaniuck

During the past week Columbia Valley RCMP responded to about 100 calls for service.  The following is an interesting sample of those calls.

Rear-end collision near Edgewater

On August 29, at about 1:30 p.m., Columbia Valley RCMP attended a motor vehicle collision on Highway 95 near Edgewater. Upon arrival RCMP observed a Mercedes utility van had rear-ended a Jeep and pushed it into the opposite ditch; BC Ambulance personnel were on scene and assessing the drivers who were found to be in good medical condition.

The driver of the Jeep stated that she was stopped on the highway attempting to turn left into the waste disposal area when the van had come around a corner and struck her vehicle from behind causing it to cross the oncoming lane and come to rest in the ditch.

The driver of the van stated that he had come around the corner and was travelling at a reasonable rate of speed but he did not have time to react to the stopped vehicle and subsequently rear-ended it.  As the investigators examined the scene it was obvious to them that the driver of the van had not applied his brakes until it was too late and therefore issued a violation ticket.

Scammer calls on resort guests

On August 30, at about 6:30 p.m., Columbia Valley RCMP received a fraud complaint from a local resort hotel near Invermere.  Resort staff advised that due to a telephone glitch, an unknown number was able to bypass the main switchboard and contact hotel guests directly.  The culprit was imitating hotel staff and asking for their credit card information.  Apparently 10 guests had been impacted while two guests had realized their mistake by giving out their credit card info but were able to cancel the cards immediately.  RCMP attended and worked with the shift manager to get their maintenance personnel in to fix the switchboard issue.  RCMP are reminding visitors and residents alike that any efforts to solicit any financial information like credit card numbers should be handled with extreme care.

Hiker SOS near Verdant fire

On September 2, at about 6 p.m. Columbia Valley RCMP received report from the International Emergency Response Centre in Houston, Texas, surrounding an activated In-Reach SOS device near Palliser Trail near the Verdant Creek fire.

The registered owner of the device had activated his SOS function after coming across the forest fire blocking his path on the trail. Not wanting to stay the night or risk crossing the fire the owner activated his SOS as he and a friend had been hiking for six days and were tired and running short on energy and rations.  Search and Rescue personnel were engaged and were en route via helicopter when it was learned the two men were picked up by a fire operations helicopter and subsequently cancelled the SOS with the response centre.

Motorcyclist rear-ended at Skookum

During the evening hours of September 2, Columbia Valley RCMP received a report of a two-vehicle collision involving a motorcycle and car at the intersection of Highway 93/95 and the Skookum Inn gas station near Windermere.  RCMP responded immediately to the report and once on scene spoke with firefighters and ambulance personnel who were treating the motorcyclist.

The driver of the BMW motorcycle advised that he was northbound on Hwy 93/95 and about to turn right from the highway to get fuel at the Skookum Inn gas station when he was struck from behind by another vehicle. He ended up sliding on the pavement and both he and the bike ended up in the ditch. The driver of the Mercedes sedan that struck the motorcycle admitted that he was not paying attention and did not see the bike trying to make a right turn; he was issued a violation ticket for “Follow to Close.”

Hikers deterred from Swansea trek

On September 3, RCMP received notification of a situation near the Swansea Forest Service Road. There were multiple hikers in the area about to embark on some backcountry hiking when they were advised that all backcountry access was prohibited.  As we all know the entire valley is a tinderbox; please obey the closures as they are put into place to protect people, property and wildlife. Once we start singing in the rain, the backcountry will open once again.

– Sgt. Bob Vatamaniuck is commander of the Columbia Valley RCMP Detachment

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