August 15
At 3 p.m., the Columbia Valley detachment was made aware of a backpack left unattended at Panorama Mountain Village. Forty dollars and a cell phone was stolen from the pack.
August 16
A number of unlocked vehicles were rummaged through in the 1600 block of 10th Avenue. Fortunately, no valuables were in the vehicles. People are reminded to lock their cars.
At 6 p.m., a citizen reported seeing an orange semi-trailer truck traveling northbound from Invermere towards Golden. The load of lumber was not balanced properly on the trailer and the wheels of the trailer were observed to lift off the ground. The 2012 Peterbuilt was easily located when, 20 minutes later, the detachment received a report of a semi rollover on Highway 93/95 near Edgewater. All the lumber had spilled onto the road. The 30-year-old driver from Abbotsford received minor injuries. The driver was charged with insecure load and speeding, as witnesses estimated the truck travelling at speeds of 120 kilometres per hour.
Immediately after this accident, Corporal Simpson advised he then went searching for what was called in as an intoxicated male chasing a sheep in Radium. Simpson advised he quickly cleared from the accident scene with the spilled lumber as soon as possible as he did not know what the intentions were of this intoxicated male and believed if anything it would not be consensual. No male was located.
August 17
At 11:48 p.m., a Columbia Valley detachment member was parked stationary at 7th Avenue and 9th Street, monitoring the intersection when a blue Ford Ranger failed to stop for the stop sign. The 62-year-old driver displayed signs of having had some drinks. An ASD demand was read and the driver blew a warn. This resulted in his licence being suspended for three days. The driver was also charged with failing to stop for the stop sign.
August 18
The Columbia Valley detachment received a report of a possible sail plane losing control and crashing. The crash was not observed but the person reporting the incident was concerned with the dive he observed. A quick check with the Soaring Centre and a check-in with all pilots determined that all was safe and no one was reported missing or in any difficulties. Better safe than sorry and we appreciated the call.
At 9 p.m., the Columbia Valley detachment received reports of damage to the Playland buildings at the Dry Gulch campground area. Windows were smashed and damage was reported inside the building.
There was also a report of a lost Blackberry curve phone with blue case near the Blue Dog Cafe in Invermere. Anyone who locates it, please turn it into the detachment.
August 19
The detachment works with a number of volunteers and groups in the community. One very important group that partners up with the detachment is our range patrol volunteers, a group of people in the farming community who know the backcountry very well. They are our eyes and ears in places we have difficulty getting to. On this date, they spotted and recovered a homemade utility trailer that was reported stolen on August 10. The trailer was reunited with its owner. A big thanks to our range patrol.
