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Police

New officer takes the reins at Vernon RCMP detachment

VERNON - There’s a new top cop in the City of Vernon. Insp. Jim McNamara has been the acting superintendent of the Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP since Reg Burgess retired in March 2015, and on Wednesday, Oct. 14, he was officially promoted to the position. "On behalf of Council and the staff of the City of...

Vernon RCMP cut man’s spending spree with stolen credit card short

VERNON - He charged purchases to a stolen credit card, and now police are charging him with possession of stolen property.  Police believe the man got the credit card out of a wallet he stole from a car in the Findlay Road area of Coldstream the night of Sept. 30. The card was subsequently used...

Vernon man says saving a life opened his eyes

VERNON - Ryan Winkler says he was just the guy who happened to drive by on that particular morning; police call him a life saver. Winkler, 36, was on his way to work around 4 a.m. when he saw a truck parked on the side of North Westside Road. The windows were taped up, the...

Construction sign heist hits North Okanagan highway

LUMBY - Police are scratching their heads after numerous traffic signs went missing from a highway construction project in the North Okanagan. RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says Controlling Traffic Limited has reported roughly 30 signs stolen from an area on Highway 6 between Lumby and Lavington where paving work is being done. The signs, which...

Police in Vernon investigate another incident involving gunshots

COLDSTREAM - Mounties are investigating a confrontation in Coldstream which allegedly led to gunshots being fired in a front yard. RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says police were called out to a barn in the 6400-block of Highway 6 in Coldstream about 1:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 3 for a report of multiple shots fired in a...

Vernon RCMP looking for individual who was in Polson Park night of alleged murder

VERNON - Investigators believe there was someone else in Polson Park the night of an alleged murder, and they’re hoping that person will come forward. Police issued a statement earlier this week asking for additional witnesses in the Jason Hardy murder investigation, but RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says it appears investigators are looking for one person in...

Mounties investigate shots fired in Vernon

VERNON - Vernon RCMP have launched an investigation after a report of shots being fired at a townhouse complex. RCMP Sgt. Dave Evans says in a media release police were called to a townhouse in the 1600-block of 43 Avenue Wednesday, Sept. 23 around 3:40 a.m. A preliminary investigation led police to believe a confrontation...

Vernon convenience store clerk shaken, but not hurt, after robbery

VERNON - A convenience store employee did the right thing when a man in a ski mask told him to open the cash register early yesterday morning. After being threatened with what looked like bear spray around 4:30 a.m., Sept. 20, the lone clerk at Mac’s Convenience Store on 27 Street did as he was...

UPDATE: Former Vernon RCMP officer guilty, sentenced for possessing child pornography

"HE HAS... BEEN SUBJECTED TO PUNISHMENT WELL BEYOND THAT... (OF) A USUAL INMATE" KELOWNA - Former Vernon Mountie Ryan Hampton has been found guilty of possessing and downloading child pornography as well as several counts of breaching court orders. Hampton, 37, pleaded not guilty to possessing child pornography, accessing child pornography and six counts of breaching...

Arrest made in Vernon pet store arson

VERNON - Police have charged a local man with arson in connection to a small fire outside AJ’s Pets & Things earlier this month. RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says surveillance footage released by the store showed a man appearing to start the Sept. 6 fire. Police appealed to the public for help locating and identifying...

UPDATE: Young boy hit by vehicle in Penticton dies; RCMP driver investigated

PENTICTON - The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. is investigating after an off-duty RCMP officer hit and killed a five-year-old pedestrian walking with his family. At roughly 5 p.m. yesterday, Sept. 15, the boy was with his family crossing the road when he was struck.  RCMP originally said the boy was four years old but...

Motorcycle crash puts Vernon man in hospital with serious injuries

VERNON - A local man is in potentially life threatening condition after losing control of his motorcycle Sunday afternoon. Police say the 55-year-old Vernon man was travelling east on Bella Vista Road, Sept. 13, when he lost control and crashed around 4 p.m. His bike was extensively damaged in the accident. Both police and B.C....

Vernon RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk off duty for good

VERNON - He was a well known face at the police station and on the news, but you won't be seeing Vernon's longtime RCMP spokesperson anymore. Gord Molendyk, who served over as an RCMP officer, and then a media spokesperson, for over 40 years has announced he’s retiring. “My job over the years working with...

Police investigating another suspicious fire in Vernon

VERNON - Police in Vernon are investigating another suspected arson, this time outside the curling club. RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says the fire started in a pile of display panels used for hanging merchandise which were stacked at the rear of the building. The Vernon Fire Department managed to put out the blaze before it...

New murder charge laid in connection with Vernon death

VERNON - Police have arrested a third person for murder in connection with the death of 42-year-old Jason Hardy, whose body was found in Polson Park Aug. 26. Tal Kalum La Riviere, 28, from Greater Vernon, was arrested in Kamloops Sept. 9 and charged with one count of second degree murder. He was scheduled to...

RCMP issue warning over persistent phone scammers in the Okanagan

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Residents are being reminded to watch for red flags if they get a call from someone claiming to be from Revenue Canada. Clues the call may be a scam include getting pressured by the person to pay taxes immediately over the phone, or being threatened that police will come and arrest them if...

Multiple residents displaced after Vernon pot lab explodes

VERNON - Several residents of a Vernon apartment complex were forced out of their homes when a neighbouring unit exploded and now, nearly a month later, they still can’t return home, according to one displaced tenant. Resident James Halpert, who gave only his first and middle name, has lived in his Regency Gardens apartment on...

Two suspicious fires under investigation in Vernon

VERNON - Police are taking two separate suspicious fires in Vernon very seriously. At this point, investigators can’t say if the pair of fires are connected, but RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says these types of cases ‘take a very high priority’ at the detachment, particularly in light of a string of high profile unsolved arsons...

UPDATE: Missing Vernon woman located

UPDATE: 12:01 P.M., SEPT. 8, 2015 Vernon RCMP announced Tuesday, Sept. 8, that Cheryl 'Daisy' McEwan, who left a medical facility last week without completing her treatment, has been found.  6:43 A.M., SEPT. 4, 2015 VERNON - Authorities are appealing to the public for help finding a missing woman. Vernon RCMP say Cheryl ‘Daisy’ McEwan,...

Stolen truck leads Mounties to large Shuswap drug operation

SHUSWAP - Police busted a massive drug trafficking operation in the Shuswap over the weekend, all thanks to a stolen truck that led them straight to it. Salmon Arm RCMP received a report of a stolen F350 with a camper on it Saturday, Aug. 29, and soon got wind of a truck matching the description...