Investigation
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...
Early morning car crash under investigation
VERNON - Police are investigating a series of events ending with a car crash and no sign of the occupants. It all started shortly after midnight Sept. 28 when the Vernon RCMP received a report of a car speeding through the intersection of 32 Avenue and 32 Street. “The silver car with two occupants was...
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...
Investigation into abandoned house fire underway
VERNON - An investigation is underway following an overnight fire in Vernon. Fire officials and police are looking into a small fire at an abandoned house in the 2800 block of 30 Avenue. The fire broke out around 12:30 a.m. Friday and while considered minor, has the attention of investigators. Over the summer, Vernon saw...
Family sets up memorial fund for hit-and-run victim
PENTICTON - The family of a young man killed in a hit-and-run accident have set up a memorial fun in his name to help support the three young children that survive him. Scott Michaud, 27, was found dead in the early morning of August 12 alongside Skaha Lake Road in Penticton. Police said Michaud’s injuries...
Why you’ve seen so many missing person reports on your news feed this summer
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The faces of missing people from the Thompson-Okanagan have poured into news feeds over the last few months, but police say it’s nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year. Spokesperson for the RCMP Const. Kris Clark says the summer months typically see more reports of missing people. “You’ve got the...
Strange Vernon crash investigation like a scene from a TV show
VERNON - Mounties are looking for witnesses to help them figure out a bizarre series of events overnight that could have been straight out of a mystery crime show. At about 1 a.m. Aug. 21, an officer was called to investigate a reported accident in the 3700 block of Welker Road in Vernon. The caller...
HELSTON: Suspects walk without charges in high profile cases—what’s going on?
Over the course of a week, police let the suspects in two separate, serious incidents walk without charges. The first incident was a shooting in Polson Park Aug. 12. Police said multiple people were involved and several shots were fired. Later that day, one person was arrested in Vernon and three in Kelowna. The next...
Workers return to burnt Coldstream lumber mill
VERNON - The employees of a Coldstream business are back at work after fire forced them from their posts August 12. Coldstream Lumber president Johnal Lee says all 40 workers were back in the building Wednesday morning. “We’re super happy,” Lee says. “We were under a lot of stress because of the impact, number one...
Police continue to investigate suspected meth lab
VERNON - The suspects arrested in last Friday’s drug bust have been released without charges while police continue to investigate the suspected meth lab. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says members of the Vernon detachment alongside the clandestine lab team scoured a home in the 1700 block of 41 Avenue and found items consistent with cooking...
Catastrophic electrical failure sparks Coldstream mill fire
COLDSTREAM - Employees at a lumber mill in Coldstream saw sudden, lightning-like flashes followed by flames after an electrical malfunction almost burnt down the entire facility. Investigators believe they have found the cause of Tuesday’s vicious fire at Coldstream Lumber, just off Highway 6 on Ricardo Road. Coldstream fire chief Shane Code says a combination of...
Vernon officials investigate suspicious backyard grass fire
VERNON - Authorities in Vernon are investigating another suspicious fire, this time in a resident’s backyard. Fire crews were called to the 800 block of Mt. Bulman Place about 2 a.m. Monday to fight a backyard grass fire. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair says the fire was quickly contained and the only damage was to...
Cause of barn blaze remains a mystery
VERNON - An investigation into the cause of a devastating barn fire continues to turn up few answers. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair says they still don’t know what led to the July 31 blaze on Pottery Road, on the outskirts of the City of Vernon. “There’s so much damage it’s hard to pinpoint the...
Cause of barn blaze remains unknown
VERNON - What caused a Vernon barn to go up in flames remains a mystery. Police and the Vernon Fire Department continue to investigate the cause of last Thursday’s blaze on the outskirts of Vernon at a property in the 1100 block of Pottery Road. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair says investigators have combed through the...
Sexual assault charges laid against Armstrong man
VERNON - Police have charged an Armstrong man with sexual assault in a two-month-old investigation. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says charges have been laid against Joseph Vance Caron, 45. “This investigation required a great deal of time to complete, and required forensic evidence to assist in the identification of their suspect,” Molendyk says. Caron is...