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Vernon Rcmp

Men who died in Vernon motorcycle crash identified

VERNON - The names of two men who died in a weekend motorcycle crash have been released by the B.C. Coroners Service. They were James Tyler Folden, 23, of Lumby, and Trinity James Dale Bright, 24, originally from Cherryville, but most recently residing in Canmore, Alberta. Folden was driving an offroad motorcycle with Bright as...

Convertible flips outside Vernon, driver escapes alive

VERNON - A man is lucky to be okay after crashing and rolling his convertible just outside of Vernon. The single vehicle accident happened around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, June 28 at Highway 97 near Bailey Road, Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says. The 47-year-old driver was the only person in the car when it went into the...

UPDATE: Two men killed in Vernon dirt bike crash

VERNON – Two men are dead after the dirt bike they were on hit a park utility trailer on East Vernon Road in Vernon Sunday morning. RCMP were called to the crash at about 6:30 a.m., June 28, when a neighbour found the men, 23 and 24 years of age. “Early indications in this investigation...

Another grass fire in Vernon’s Becker Park; this one is suspicious

VERNON – Vernon fire crews put out another grass fire in a park right in the middle of city. Firefighters were called to a third blaze in just over a week in Becker Park at about 6:36 a.m., Saturday, June 20. The cause of this one has been deemed suspicious in nature. Capt. Brent Bond...

Man assaulted at Vernon business

VERNON – Police are investigating after a 24-year-old man was assaulted at a Vernon business last night. RCMP say they were called to the business in the 8100-block of Highland Road in a light industrial area on the north end of Swan Lake at about 10:50 p.m., June 18. The victim had minor injuries and...

Apparently this isn’t a good place to stop for a drink

VERNON - Just FYI: An unlocked compound is not an invitation to mosey inside and borrow a motorhome for some father-son bonding over a drink. A security company thought it was suspicious that the two men were drinking in the motorhome around 9:50 p.m. Saturday, June 14 and called police thinking it was a break...

Teen rescued after failed attempt to swim Okanagan Lake

VERNON – A 19-year-old from Alberta was rescued from Okanagan Lake after a failed attempt to swim from Ellison Provincial Park near Vernon to the other side of the lake. RCMP called Vernon Search and Rescue at about 5 p.m., Friday, June 12, and the volunteers launched their boats. The teen was found an hour...

Investigation into Vernon hit and run continues

VERNON - Police continue to investigate a hit and run which left a motorcyclist with serious injuries. The May 23 accident happened in the area of Okanagan Landing Road and Fulton Road when, according to a witness, a Silver Toyota Celica stopped in the middle of the street, causing a motorcyclist to crash into the...

North Okanagan neighbourhood begs for police presence on dangerous road

ARMSTRONG - After seeing police action taken on a stretch of road known for having a problem with speeders, people in other North Okanagan neighbourhoods are lining up for the same treatment. Mounties conducted a road check on Otter Lake Road May 19 after residents expressed concerns about people speeding to police and city council,...

Vernon RCMP use creative tactic to send message about distracted driving

VERNON - Police in Vernon tested drivers with an unusual distracted driving campaign Monday afternoon involving a cardboard sign that read: ‘I am not homeless.’ If you kept reading, you’d see the sign went on to say, ‘RCMPolice looking for seatbelt/cell phones.’ RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says in a media release the sign was part...

Vernon man falls off boat after losing balance and hits propeller

VERNON - Police are looking into what role alcohol may have played in a weekend boating accident which left a Vernon man badly injured — and they’re not investigating the driver of the boat. Police believe a 21-year-old Vernon man who fell off the bow of a boat and struck the propeller might have been...

Blood found outside Vernon school connected to stabbing incident

SUSPECT ARRESTED VERNON - Police have determined the blood found outside Ellison Elementary School in Vernon is connected to a stabbing incident. Officers had a portion of Fulton Road and Okanagan Landing Road outside the school cordoned off on Wednesday, May 28 while they investigated the scene and collected evidence. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said a man...

Batch of chemicals show up on backroad near Westwold

VERNON - Police aren’t sure where a large batch of chemicals dumped in a gravel pit on Douglas Lake Road came from, but they have a hunch it was a synthetic drug lab. The Ministry of Environment got wind of the illegally dumped chemicals — 33 to 54 gallon barrels full — and contacted the...

Proactive enforcement takes a hit as Vernon RCMP grapple with heavy caseload

VERNON - Checkstops and impaired driving investigations took a hit over the last few months as police struggled to handle a heavy criminal caseload. In a presentation to Vernon city council Monday, May 25, acting RCMP Supt. Jim McNamara said enforcement initiatives were negatively affected by continued resource-draining serious crime incidents and high calls for...

Vernon woman, 93, wanted help, not a hospital visit

CALLS FOR HELP ANSWERED BY NEIGHBOURS  VERNON - A 93-year-old Vernon woman who fell down, crawled to the door and yelled for help remained adamant she did not want to go to the hospital despite her situation. In the end, she did, and it was thanks to the help of two good samaritans who heard...

Traffic halted on Highway 6 for air ambulance landing

VERNON - Highway 6 was shut down and used as a landing strip for B.C. Air Ambulance over the weekend. The aircraft was picking up a 60-year-old man from Edmonton who hit a deer while riding his BMW bike along Highway 6 near Angel Falls (close to the Needles Ferry) around 3:10 p.m. Saturday, May...

Vernon RCMP seek witnesses in weekend hit and run

VERNON - Police are appealing to the public for information about a hit and run that left a motorcyclist seriously injured. The accident happened around 2:05 p.m. on Saturday, May 23, at Okanagan Landing Road and Fulton Road, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. According to a witness, a silver Toyota Celica appeared to stop in...

Okanagan Landing Elementary on lockdown after body found in schoolyard

VERNON - Okanagan Landing Elementary School was in lockdown Monday morning after a body was found in the schoolyard. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says a man’s body was found by some children shortly before school started Monday, May 25. The incident has been deemed a suicide and the B.C. Coroners Service is involved. Molendyk says...

Police step up efforts to curb speeding in Armstrong

ARMSTRONG - Several speeders were surprised to find police waiting for them on a backcountry road in Armstrong this week. Residents in the Otter Lake Road area of Armstrong have expressed concerns about speeders to police and city council, and those worries prompted an enforcement blitz early Tuesday morning, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said in...

‘Two full open cans of beer (dropped) at the officer’s feet’

HAVEN'T HAD ANYTHING TO DRINK SINCE LAST NIGHT, OFFICER LUMBY - It was more a question of what laws a Lumby man wasn't breaking when he was pulled over on Victoria Day.  A cop parked at the Lumby RCMP detachment noticed him drive by without a seat belt on and using his cell phone on...

Lumby man crashes car in dense fog, requires rescue

VERNON - Emergency personnel rushed to get an injured man out of his car after it flipped on Highway 6 over the long weekend. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says police were called to the single vehicle accident about 5:45 p.m. Monday, May 18. A 20-year-old Lumby man’s vehicle crashed and rolled, trapping him inside, Molendyk...

Vernon dog team nabs neighbourhood thief

VERNON - A man accused of stealing from peoples’ boats, cars and garages was stopped in his tracks by the Vernon RCMP’s dog unit over the long weekend. Police received a report of a suspicious man going through cars and yards in the Cranberry Lane area of Middleton Mountain Monday, May 18. One caller reported...

Distress call leads police, Vernon Search and Rescue to mountains outside Lumby

LUMBY - A pair of injured men were lucky to have a well-prepared outdoorsman come along after they crashed their ATV in a remote area outside Lumby. The men were riding a two-person, side-by-side ATV on a forest service road near Squaw Valley Road outside Lumby on Sunday, May 17, when they hit a rut...