Peachland online date turns into forceable confinement, police say

KELOWNA – RCMP say a man is custody after a meeting arranged through an online dating service went wrong.

RCMP Const. Jesse O’Donaghey in a press release says police received a complaint about a possible forcible confinement incident on August 12.

That’s when police allege the man, who had already met the women several times in person, confined the woman to his vehicle for several hours, driving around before letting her go.

The victim received minor injuries and police immediately began investigating the incident, eventually using fixed-wing aircraft to locate the vehicle and arrest the man without incident in Peachland.

O’Donaghey says the suspect was driving a silver 2000 Dodge Durango during the incident and drove all over the Central Okanagan over the course of several hours.

Anyone who may have seen the vehicle during this time is asked to call Const. Denise Bendfeld of the West Kelowna RCMP at 250-768-2880.

A 36-year-old Peachland man remains in custody and is facing possible charges of forceable confinment, assault and uttering threats.


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John McDonald

John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.

It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.

But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.

If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca