Police issue caution after 68-year-old woman’s close call

PENTICTON – Penticton RCMP are issuing a cautionary note to the public after a 68-year-old woman attempted to intervene with two men and a woman she thought were taking drugs.

Police spokesperson Cpl. Ted Muchalenko said the woman was leaving Cherry Lane Shopping Centre on Nov. 18 around 8 p.m., heading towards her car out the back doors of the mall near London Drugs.

She encountered two young men and a woman taking what she thought were drugs. She stopped and told them to leave the area, when one of the men approached her in what she felt was an aggressive fashion.

She sprayed the man with her water bottle, and the man responded by grabbing the woman by the arms and pushing her up against the wall.

The incident was caught on video. The woman was not injured.

Both males, who were wearing camouflage jackets with attached hoodies left the area on BMX bikes, while the woman wandered off on foot.

Muchalenko advises residents if they see similar incidents taking place to avoid getting involved.

“If you want to get involved, contact the police. You can observe from a safe distance, but to approach people unknown to you, in an area that might be a little dark, might not be the best idea,” he said.

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