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Death

Bastion Place dementia patient died of natural causes

SALMON ARM - A 93-year-old dementia patient who wandered into another resident’s room at a care home in Salmon Arm and died four days later passed of natural causes, according to a coroner’s report. Bastion Place staff saw John Edward Young sleeping in his bed at 11:30 p.m. Oct. 2. Half an hour later, they...

Nurses union sounds alarm after third care-home death

SALMON ARM - The dementia patient who attacked a fellow resident at a Shuswap care home had already assaulted people at the facility, including a nurse, and was flagged as aggressive, says a spokesperson for the B.C. Nurses Union. That patient’s name has not been released, but the name of the man who wandered into...

Fruit picker who fell to his death identified

SOUTH OKANAGAN - A fruit picker who died following an accident last week has been identified as Gabriel Gendreau-Martineau. Gendreau-Martineau, 23, of St. Agathe, QC, spent his summer working on a farm in Osoyoos. While he had concluded his work there, he tented on the property until he planned to leave on Sept. 26. On...

Foul play ruled out in death of Vernon teen

VERNON - Foul play has been ruled out in the death of a former Vernon teen who died at a work residence in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. Police initially called 19-year-old Dylan Cordell Hanna’s death suspicious, but an autopsy conducted Sept. 16 has since dispelled any notions foul play was involved. Hanna was found Sept. 14 at...

Motorcycle crash kills West Kelowna man

PENTICTON - A West Kelowna man was killed when he crashed his motorcycle into another vehicle this past weekend. On Saturday, Sept. 13, a 42-year-old motorcyclist accelerated straight through a yellow light at the same time an oncoming car was making a left-hand turn at the intersection of Main Street and Industrial Avenue. The motorcyclist...

UPDATE: American killed rock climbing near Penticton identified

PENTICTON – An American in his 30’s fell to his death on Saturday, Aug. 30, while rock climbing in Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park near Penticton. “The man fell from a substantial height,” RCMP Const. Chris Richardson says. “He was deceased upon arrival at hospital.” The victim, identified as Stas Eric Gray of Seattle Washington, was...

This is how young people in Penticton are bringing awareness to mental health

PENTICTON - There's a group of five Penticton 20-somethings creating a plan for a new non-profit organization to help bring support and awareness of mental health to town — because of what happened to someone they know. They gather at a coffee shop on Main Street in downtown Penticton, their computer screens glowing, pages of...

Surrey man drowned, remains found by RCMP dive team

OKANAGAN - The remains of a Surrey businessman who drowned while on vacation in Washington have been found, thanks to the efforts of the B.C. RCMP Dive Team and the Okanagan County Sheriff Department. While vacationing with family and friends on Washington’s Osoyoos Lake earlier this month, John Mele dove into the water and didn’t...

RCMP: Pressure for emergency services reaches unprecedented level over long weekend

PENTICTON - RCMP said the pressure Boonstock put on emergency services over the long weekend was taken to unprecedented levels. In a statement released Wednesday, Const. Kris Clark said the large number of overdoses and the death of a 24-year-old Alberta woman caused “alarm for the overwhelmed emergency and security operations”. RCMP provided additional resources...

Man killed in Cherryville farming accident

CHERRYVILLE - A Yellowknife man was killed earlier this month when a cow head-butted him at a farm in Cherryville. Allen Donald Powder, 49, was working on the farm July 1, moving cows from one corral to another with the help of another man. According to the B.C. Coroners Service, one of the cows became...

HELSTON: You’re never planning on getting into trouble on the water

When you’re packing up for a day on the water, toss in a floatation device along with your suntan lotion, snacks and iPhone. It might save your life, or someone else’s. I’ll be the first to admit that packing safety gear can feel like a big nuisance. It’s certainly not as fun as loading a...

UPDATE: Man dead after leap from moving vehicle

KELOWNA – There are more questions than answers following the death of a Kelowna man who jumped from a moving car on Saturday morning. Victor John Doyle, 23, of Kelowna was riding in the passenger side when, according to the RCMP, he “unexpectedly” leapt from the vehicle on Glenmore Road near Union Road. Doyle was...

Celebration of life for Vernon teen

VERNON - Those attending the memorial service for a Vernon teen killed in a boating accident are encouraged to sport a jersey, pajama bottoms and socks that don’t match to honour and remember him. Fourteen-year-old Miles Wohlford’s celebration of life will be held July 14 at Kal Tire Place at 3 p.m. Wohlford was tubing...

Police seek answers in Vernon teen’s death

VERNON - Police are working to give a grieving family answers in the tragic boating death of a Vernon teen. Officers are investigating the death of Miles Wohlford, 14, who fell off his tube and was struck by the boat and its propeller June 28 on Okanagan Lake. “The investigation is to thoroughly look into...

Canada Day water skiing mishap claims Coldstream woman’s life

LUMBY – A 46-year-old Coldstream woman is dead after a water skiing accident on Sugar Lake on Canada Day. Lumby RCMP say they received a report at about 6:15 p.m. on July 1 about an unconscious woman. The victim had been water skiing with her husband driving the boat and family members acting as spotters....

One year later, police still need help solving Glenmore murder

KELOWNA – One year after a Kelowna woman was found murdered in her Glenmore home, RCMP are still no closer to identifying a suspect. The body of Theresa Ashley Neville was found by paramedics shortly after midnight June 18 and an autopsy revealed Neville was murdered. Frank Schlief says he rented the home to Neville,...