OCTOBER
House fire suspicious: A fire that destroyed a Mission home was deemed suspicious. Mission Fire Rescue Service was called out to the fire on Dewdney Trunk Road. When crews arrived, the home was already fully involved, with flames visible in several windows.
Female robbery suspect arrested: Mission RCMP reported that a female suspect believed to be involved in a Hatzic Store robbery was arrested. Langley RCMP arrested Amber Nowacki, suspected of a robbery the previous day at the Hatzic Prairie Store.
Bear attacks woman in her home: An aggressive mother black bear attacked a Mission woman in her house. The 21-year-old woman went to the door of her Wren Street house just after midnight when her dogs began barking. But when she opened the door, she found herself face to face with a 200-pound black bear. The woman stumbled back and fell, at which time the bear swatted her. The woman’s boyfriend quickly came in and scared the bear off.
NOVEMBER
Child finds loaded gun: Mission RCMP confirmed that a young child discovered a fully loaded handgun in downtown Mission. It was a revolver and it was fully loaded with rounds. The gun was discovered in the bushes near the Tim Hortons.
Crime is on the decline: Mission’s crime statistics appeared to be on the decline compared to the same time last year. RCMP officer in charge Insp. Anette Fellner presented the information to council. Overall, compared to the same time last year, auto crime was down 22 per cent in Mission.
CP police involved in shooting: A man was transported to hospital by air ambulance after a police-involved shooting in Mission. The shooting took place near the Canadian Pacific (CP) railway tracks behind Safeway. It was believed that a CP Police Service officer engaged with a suspect and shots were fired.
DECEMBER
You want me to let them go?: A local business owner said he managed to capture two suspected thieves in his downtown Mission store, but despite calling the RCMP, no one came to help him. In fact, he said the police told him to let the suspect go. Keegan Moses, owner of Dr. Fix Computers on First Avenue, was frustrated, angry and a little sad about the situation. Mission RCMP said a perfect storm of other calls came in near the same time, leaving no officers available to respond.
RCMP seize firearms, drugs: Mission RCMP seized a large amount of drugs and weapons from a local home. Police located and seized several marijuana plants, 180 pounds of dried marijuana, marijuana derivatives, one kilogram of “shatter,” over four kilograms of hash, 13 firearms, and $10,000 in cash. Two vehicles and two motorcycles were also seized as proceeds of crime.
Number of overdose calls nearly double: The number of suspected overdose/poisoning paramedic calls in Mission almost doubled in 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. According to statistics provided by BC Emergency Health Services, in a seven-month period (from April to October 2016), there were approximately 61 paramedic calls in Mission for suspected overdose/poisoning. In the same period in 2017, the number of Mission calls shot up to 111.
