RCMP Community Connection for May 18 – 26

Welcome to the Mission RCMP Community Connection for May 18 – 26, 2024

Here’s a snapshot of some of the work we did last week:

• Calls for service last week: 283
• Proactive patrols of identified hot spots: 20
• Curfew checks completed: 6

Calls of interest:

Shortly after 6 am on May 18, Mission RCMP were called to an address in the 30000 block of Silverdale Avenue. When police arrived, they saw that several objects had been set on fire in front of the house, and there was evidence that a break and enter had occurred. Officers quickly found indications of a possible fentanyl lab inside the house, and secured the property for further investigation. No one was at the property when police arrived, and no one has been taken into custody.  Due to the hazardous materials involved, the RCMP’s Clandestine Lab Enforcement and Response team (CLEAR) was called in to assist with the investigation. Officers from the CLEAR team worked alongside Mission RCMP, and spent the weekend examining the lab. Investigators determined that the lab was large enough to be classified as a super lab, and had produced numerous batches of fentanyl, but was not as big as a fentanyl lab dismantled on Stave Lake Road in 2023.  Mission RCMP’s investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about this property, or other drug labs in the Mission area is asked to call Mission RCMP, at 604-826-7161.

Mission RCMP and other first responders attended the Frog Hill area of Stave Lake Road on the evening of May 20, for a single-vehicle rollover. A white Honda Civic failed to navigate the twisty stretch of road, and landed upside down in the ditch. The 20-year-old driver from Alberta and his 21-year-old passenger were not seriously hurt, but both experienced whiplash-related injuries. Speed may have been a factor in the collision.

An officer was conducting proactive patrols around 1 am on May 21, when he noticed a man stumbling toward a car at a gas station on Haig Street, before getting into the car and driving away. The officer pulled over the car to check the man’s sobriety. The man pulled over, but didn’t manage to fully stop his car. As the officer was speaking to the man, the car slowly continued creeping forward, evidently still in Drive. Eventually the officer was able to get the man to put the car in Park and turn it off. The 32-year-old male driver from Chilliwack showed numerous signs of being impaired by liquor, and the 12-pack of vodka drinks on the passenger floorboards – along with several empty cans – were another clue of the driver’s condition. He failed a roadside screening device test, and received a 90-day driving prohibition. His Chrysler 300 was also impounded for 30 days.

On May 23, an officer with Mission RCMP’s Crime Reduction Unit was conducting proactive patrols, when he observed a vehicle depart from a known problem-residence along Shook Road in Hatzic. The officer was familiar with the vehicle and knew it did not have active insurance. When the officer pulled over the vehicle, he also determined that the 53-year-old female driver was prohibited from driving. Her 48-year-old female passenger also had an outstanding warrant for her arrest. Both females were arrested, and the vehicle was impounded.

On the evening of May 25, police were called to a pharmacy in Mission for a man who was refusing to leave. The man was demanding that a prescription be provided to him, however the pharmacist clarified that the man’s prescription was through a different pharmacy, and he had already given him one emergency dose and could not give him any more. A Mission RCMP officer offered to drive the man to a different pharmacy or to the hospital. The man refused and threw a shelf at the officer, resulting in a small cut to his face. The man was removed from the store and transported to a hospital.

On the lighter side:

Around 10:30 pm on May 23, a group of friends called Mission RCMP to report a suspicious incident. They had been driving through the parking lot of a fast food restaurant, when they saw a man standing near the open trunk of a car parked in the lot. As they drove by, the friends saw what appeared to be a female inside the trunk, not moving. The friends feared for their safety and quickly drove out of the lot before calling police. As you can imagine, this sort of report generated a considerable police response, however the vehicle in question left before police arrived. Mission RCMP pushed on with the investigation, wanting to ensure the wellbeing of the person possibly in the trunk of the car. After pursuing various avenues of investigation, officers were eventually able to determine what had happened: a group of younger males had been planning to drive to a destination a short distance from the fast food restaurant, but when they started piling into their car, they realized that there were more people than there were seats in the car. One of them made the decision to ride in the trunk, as it was only going to be a quick trip. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the person who had been in the trunk quickly admitted to it, which saved further police resources from further investigating the suspicious call. The rider was advised to only use seats with seat-belts in the future. Mission RCMP strongly discourage people from riding in trunks of cars for many, many…many reasons.

Ways to connect with Mission RCMP:

• Emergency: 911
• Non-emergency: 604-826-7161.
• Online crime reporting
• Keep up with more news on our Facebook page