A hitchhiker who allegedly held a truck driver at gunpoint after being picked up near Avola is now in custody in Kamloops.
According to RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dan Moskaluk, police in Kamloops and Clearwater received a report at about 6:30 p.m. on Monday that a hitchhiker was holding a commercial truck driver at gunpoint.
The driver had picked up the hitchhiker near Avola, north of Clearwater on Highway 5 North.
The truck continued south on Highway 5 North and was eventually stopped by Mounties near the weigh scales on the Coquihalla just south of the Copperhead Road exit in Kamloops.
Police disabled the truck and the driver was able to escape his vehicle unharmed. Moskaluk said the suspect was eventually taken into custody without incident a few hours later.
The incident prompted Kamloops RCMP to close the Coquihalla Highway at the weigh scales immediately south of Kamloops.
