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Police

Change in command at Lumby RCMP detachment

LUMBY - Lumby will soon be losing a familiar face — that of Cpl. Henry Proce, the village’s detachment commander. Proce announced Monday, May 11 he will be retiring as of May 22. He has served at the Lumby detachment for eight years, and 37 in total with the RCMP. Taking his place will be...

Vernon RCMP investigate two home invasions

VERNON - Police are investigating two recent home invasions that may be connected. Around 7:30 a.m. on Friday, May 8, Vernon RCMP responded to two separate home invasions.  In both incidents people entered the residences, one in the 3900 block of 32 Street and one in the 3900 block of 27 Avenue, while the homeowners...

UPDATE: Legion president injured in Highway 97 crash

KELOWNA – A car crash on Highway 97 near Old Vernon Road in Kelowna this morning seriously injured three people, including two members of the Royal Canadian Legion. Branch 26 president Syd Pratt and member Frank Truman were on their way to a Flag Day event at the Lakeview Memorial Cemetery, Lynda Wachter the Legion's manager...

Child escapes Vernon car crash with minor injuries

VERNON - Two people, one of them a nine-year-old, escaped with minor injuries after their car flipped onto its roof Monday. The accident happened just after 3 p.m. Monday, May 4, at Highway 97 and College Way in Vernon, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said in a release. “The investigation determined the vehicle had been travelling...

Authorities investigate fire at Vernon bank

VERNON - Police and the fire department are investigating a suspicious blaze that scorched the outside of a downtown Vernon bank Monday night. Deputy Fire Chief Jack Blair says the fire started in a garbage container at the rear of CIBC on 30 Avenue around 9:30 p.m., May 4. “The fire caused extensive fire damage...

Search for lost man in Vernon park extends past midnight

VERNON - A man lost at night in Kalamalka Provincial Park on the weekend made the right decision when he called home to say he was turned around, and losing battery life on his cell phone. That call prompted a quick response from RCMP and Vernon Search and Rescue, who immediately dispatched to the Cougar...

Convicted murderer who rammed police in stolen truck released

KELOWNA – A convicted murderer who Justice Peter Rogers calls a 'serial criminal' will be released from custody later today despite using a stolen truck to ram a police car just one year after being released from prison. Daniel Mader, 31, was sentenced to time served Wednesday in Kelowna Supreme Court. He pleaded guilty to...

UPDATE: Vernon RCMP appeal to public for help finding overdue biker

VERNON - Search and Rescue has joined the effort to locate an overdue, and inexperienced, motorbike rider last seen Tuesday afternoon.  Kyle Macinnes, 25, went out on his dirt bike at 4 p.m. April 21, and has not returned.  “His family is very concerned as he is not a very experienced rider,” Molendyk says in...

VIDEO: Car on fire halts highway traffic near Armstrong

ARMSTRONG - A vehicle on fire in the middle of Highway 97 A near Armstrong tied up traffic for about an hour Wednesday afternoon. The Armstrong Spallumcheen Fire Department was dispatched to the scene, just north of Eagle Rock Road, about 1:30 p.m. April 22. Fire chief Ian Cummings says a Volkswagen was completely engulfed...

Lumby RCMP continues to report high number of drunk drivers

LUMBY - Lumby residents don’t seem to be getting the message when it comes to drunk driving, says the village’s top cop. Cpl. Henry Proce with the Lumby RCMP detachment says officers are arresting local residents in very high numbers for impaired driving. In the last three weeks, at least six drivers were charged with...

Three people injured in logging accident near Lumby

LUMBY - An injured logger stuck down a 500-foot embankment has been rescued and transported to hospital. The victim was one of three workers injured when a tree reportedly fell on them in a remote area east of Lumby Wednesday morning. The industrial accident is under investigation by WorkSafe B.C. and spokesperson Scott McCloy says...

Lumby man’s offence not so different from his last

LUMBY - It was deja-vu for a North Okanagan cop dealing with an impaired driving case. The officer was patrolling in the Lumby area April 10 around 2 p.m. when he noticed a prohibited driver in a residential neighbourhood, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. “Our officer drove up to the vehicle in a marked police...

Vernon senior could face charges after five hour standoff with police

VERNON - An elderly man arrested after a five hour standoff with police is looking at possible charges. The 70-year-old Vernon man was allegedly involved in a confrontation with a neighbour over some loud music around 1 a.m., April 10. When police arrived, the man had barricaded himself inside his unit of the fourplex. With...

Teen killed in fatal fall from cliff not using climbing gear: RCMP

VERNON - It looks like an 18-year-old wasn’t using any safety equipment when he decided to go rock climbing and wound up taking a fatal fall from a rock face near Vernon on the weekend. The teenager, who has yet to be identified, was camping with three friends when the group decided to go rock...

Vernon thief caught on video not who victims expected

VERNON - Police are looking into an odd theft committed by what appears to be an unexpected culprit — an elderly woman. Footage captured by a Vernon couple’s surveillance camera shows what looks to be an elderly woman making off with a patio table shortly after 6 a.m. on April 3 in the area of...

Man arrested for powering licensed grow-op with stolen electricity

CHERRYVILLE - Police found something wasn’t quite right at a licensed medical marijuana grow-op in Cherryville. RCMP say officers were already aware of the legal, 1,200 plant operation in the North Fork Road area, but had suspicions the operator was stealing electricity. Police executed a search warrant at the property March 17 and arrested one...

Police investigate second Lumby assault involving group of youths

LUMBY - Police are dealing with a second situation where someone was surrounded and assaulted by young people in Lumby. Cpl. Henry Proce says the most recent case happened March 16 when a patient at the Monashee Mews care home was confronted by several youths at the bus stop on Norris Road. The youths began...

Former Vernon Mountie to stand trial this summer on child porn charges

VERNON - A former Vernon mountie charged with possession of child pornography will stand trial this summer. Ryan Hampton, 37, was scheduled to start his trial Mar. 2 in Vernon Supreme Court but his case has now been put over until July. It has also been moved to the Kelowna courthouse. Hampton, a former police...

Vernon’s top cop reflects on 35 years with the RCMP

VERNON - RCMP Superintendent Reg Burgess’ entry into the police force 35 years ago was a serendipitous one. The now 60-year-old had a business administration degree under his belt and was working as a loans manager in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was single and rooming with a fellow who happened to be a police officer....

The household remedy that started a major RCMP drug investigation in Enderby

VERNON - When authorities raided an Enderby business and lodging house last week, they noticed a horrible smell from a weird substance growing in a jar and called in the RCMP's drug lab unit from Vancouver—complete with full-body suits and gas masks. But your average health nut might have immediately recognized it as a home-made...

Residents respond to Enderby eviction notice

"I AM EXTREMELY ANGRY WITH THE CITY AND HOW THEY'VE DEALT WITH THINGS." ENDERBY - Zhao Walker, a 25-year-old artist who hitchhiked to the area four years ago, is one of the people who lived in the back of the Gypsy Bazaar in Enderby before the city evicted them. For years, he helped run the...