A White Lake woman had a frightening encounter June 15, which ended up connected to the unmarked police vehicles seen travelling through the Shuswap Wednesday.
The woman requested her name not be used.
She said she took her quad out to the back trails around Woodhaven campground near White Lake to rescue her son whose motorbike had run out of fuel.
After she found him, she decided to go a bit farther by herself to the beach. Her dog George had followed her so she was going to take him for a swim.
While there, she was filling up her quad with gas. When the can was empty, she put it on the front of the quad. She suddenly heard footsteps behind her. Knowing there are bears in the area, she whirled around.
About five feet from her was a man, she said, “a scary looking guy” with his face all scratched.
She didn’t say a word to him but instead shouted, “George.”
George came bounding out of the water and chased the man, both of them heading down a trail.
She called George back so they could get out of the area.
Asked what she thought the man’s intentions were, she said she had no idea.
“I don’t know. I just wondered if he was coming up behind me to take my quad – so he could get farther faster. He looked very lost. I didn’t say a word to him.”
This was about 2 or 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, she estimated.
She said the man seemed to be in his late 30s or maybe mid-40s with a medium build. Along with a scratched face, he had mud all over his pants.
She said she wished she’d called police right away. When her spouse came home he said police were looking for someone in Eagle Bay, so they called police.
About 10 police vehicles responded, she said, mostly ‘ghost’ vehicles, but she wasn’t provided with information about police activities.
Thursday afternoon, June 16, an RCMP media release was issued out of Surrey.
“On June 15, 2022 the Salmon Arm RCMP and the Southeast District Emergency Response Team were at a residential address in Eagle Bay working on an investigation that started the previous day. It was learned that a man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant was possibly at the residence. A thorough investigation was completed but the suspect fled the residence prior to police attendance,” the release reads.
“Salmon Arm RCMP and partners searched for the suspect for several hours, until a tip from the public was received and he was located,” said Staff Sgt. Scott West, adding the man was located just after midnight in the Sunnybrae Canoe Point Road area without incident. He didn’t specify whose tip that was.
Salmon Arm RCMP also thanked the public for their patience and for the numerous tips received that led to the man’s capture.
Meanwhile, George the well-loved canine is now even more appreciated than usual.
“He’s a good boy, a really good dog, super protective…,” the woman said. “I was surprised he didn’t let out some big deep barks.”
She later heard the man had apparently travelled from Eagle Bay to the Woodhaven campground where he had asked campers for water.
Many Shuswap residents were aware police were involved in an incident as, about 2:30 p.m. on June 15, approximately 10 unmarked black police vehicles, lights and sirens on, were seen by several bystanders heading west through Salmon Arm. About 30 minutes later, residents on Eagle Bay Road in Blind Bay told the Observer they had counted about a dozen unmarked police vehicles of all types heading towards Eagle Bay.
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martha.wickett@saobserver.net
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