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Columbia Valley RCMP Report
By Cpl. Grant Simpson
Columbia Valley RCMP responded to approximately 50 calls for service over the past week. Here are just a few of them.
Rental property scam dodged
On March 1, a local woman called Columbia Valley RCMP to report that her daughter had nearly sent money to a scam artist posting housing rental ads on Craigslist. Her daughter had found a rental property on Craigslist in Westside Park and the renter asked her to send $300 up front before seeing the house or getting the key; fortunately the woman warned her daughter against it. She advised police that the ad was listed under Kootenay Apartments/housing for rent and that they asked for their money in American dollars, which alarmed her. She also stated that she noticed some of the properties appeared on a legitimate rental website so she believes the fraudulent site is taking photos of properties from legitimate sites. This was also reported to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre. The investigation is ongoing.
Panorama Drive crash write-off
On March 2, a 35-year-old male from Prince Rupert attended the Columbia Valley detachment to report that his vehicle had just gone off road on Panorama Drive and struck a fence post of the CP Rail compound. The male advised that while driving his 1996 Volvo wagon heād lost control on the hill coming down Panorama Road. This was attributed to compact snow/slush and icy roads from the overnight snowfall at approximately 8 a.m. The driver stated that due to the road conditions, his vehicle began to fishtail and he was unable to regain control. The driverās acquaintance was driving in a vehicle behind him and stated that the road conditions were poor and slippery. Police attended and obtained photographs of the damage. Nothing suspicious noted but extensive damage to vehicle and fence post. Vehicle believed to be most likely be a write off. Damage to fence post of CP rail reported to CPR Police.
Buses tampered with at Panorama
On March 3, Police received a report of mischief that had occurred the past two nights at Panorama Mountain Resort. The complainant, a Banff male, reported that two of the Panorama Shuttle buses had been tampered with when they were parked in the upper parking lot area of the resort. He advised that several wheel nuts had been found to be loose on one of the vehicles and a gas cap had been left open on the other. There were no suspects or witnesses. However, the bus company had recently terminated an employee. The terminated employee does not live in Panorama and there was no evidence to suggest that he was responsible. Police recommended that the complainant advise Panorama Security of the incident and request that they patrol the area where the vehicles are parked overnight. Police also suggested the use of surveillance cameras if the issue continues to occur. The complainant was advised to contact police if there are any further occurrences.
Slippery conditions lead to crash
On March 4, at 10:33 a.m., Columbia Valley RCMP received a report of a vehicle rollover from a passerby, who advised that a green vehicle had rolled over on Toby Creek Road and that four occupants were out on the road andĀ appeared to be uninjured. Police responded to the report and once on scene spoke with the driver of a 1993 Ford Explorer, green in colour. The driver, a 24-year-old male originally from Norway, advised he was westbound up Toby Creek Road about five km from Panorama when he lost control of the vehicle on ice and rolled it onto the driver’s side causing extensive damage to the driver’s side of the vehicle. Neither the driver or his passengers, were injured. Police requested sanding trucks attend to sand the roadway as a number of vehicles had been observed sliding on the highway while members were dealing with the accident.
Lack of info delays investigation
On March 6, at 8:06 a.m., Columbia Valley RCMP received a report that a truck was stolen sometime between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. and that it had been parked on third Ave beside the Lake Windermere condos in Invermere. The complainant and registered owner, said that his truck was a blue 2015 Ford F150 and that in its box was his black and green Yamaha dirt bike with Monster Logos. There were no witnesses, suspects, or video surveillance. The owner said that he may have left the Ford unlocked and that he had a spare truck key in the console. He said that the Ford was Alberta registered under his name but that he was unable to provide the licence plate or VIN numbers for the Ford or the Yamaha.
Police queries of the complainant were unable to determine that he was the registered owner of the Ford. He explained that all of the papers for the Ford were inside it. The complainant said that he does not have any ownership or registration papers for the Yamaha either.
As a result, the complainant will now be required to provide police with the licence plate number and VIN in order to follow up with their investigation.
