Hunt on for Orchard Park Mall suspicious package suspect

KELOWNA – RCMP need your help to find the man who allegedly left a suspicious package at Sears in the Orchard Park Mall forcing an evacuation and a call to the bomb squad.

RCMP say the mall was cleared out at yesterday afternoon when a Sears' employee found a suspicious package and contacted mall security and police.

The Explosive Disposal Unit from Vancouver was called. Once it arrived, the officers examined and destroyed the package.

“There are protocols and procedures in place to deal with incidents of this nature and those were activated,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Joe Duncan says in a media release. “Working with our emergency partners, we took the necessary precautionary steps to ensure the ongoing safety of the mall and its clients.”

Investigators have grabbed some images of a suspect from security video in the store and mall. They are hoping someone recognizes him.

Police say he is a Caucasian, between 5’9” and 6’ tall, with an average build. He was wearing a dark jacket, a dark baseball cap with white lettering on the front and sunglasses. He was carrying a dark backpack.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300. Remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, leaving a tip online at www.crimestoppers.net or by texting your tip to CRIMES (274637) ktown.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.