RCMP Community Connection for the week of April 15-21

Mission

2024-04-27 16:01 HAP

Under the Official Languages Act, this office provides services to the public in English only. You will find general information in both official languages at bc.rcmp.ca and www.rcmp.ca

Aux termes de la Loi sur les langues officielles, ce bureau n'offre des services au public qu'en anglais. Vous trouverez des renseignements généraux dans les deux langues officielles au cb.grc.ca et www.grc.ca.

Welcome to the Mission RCMP Community Connection for the week of April 15-21, 2024

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

Calls for service last week: 280
Proactive patrols of identified hot spots: 33
Curfew checks completed: 5

Calls of interest:

Photo of crashed motorhome

Click here for large photo of crashed motorhome

On April 21 at 10:45 pm, a two-vehicle collision occurred on Lougheed Highway, just east of Coleman Road, in the Hatzic area. An older motorhome was headed eastbound on Lougheed Highway when it drifted off-road to the right. The driver over-corrected, sending the motorhome careening into a westbound pickup truck. The truck struck a utility pole, then went down an embankment, coming to rest next to the train tracks at that location. Thanks to quick communications and actions by witnesses, police and train dispatchers, and the train engineer, an approaching train was able to stop just in time – only about 50 metres from where the truck was near the tracks. The drivers of both vehicles were transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Highway traffic and rail traffic was disrupted for a few hours while the crash was being investigated.

A well-known shoplifter entered a grocery store in Mission on the morning of April 16, scooped-up a basket-full of items, and ran out before he could be stopped. The very next day, the same male went into another big-box retailer and stole about $700 worth of merchandise. He returned to the first grocery store again on April 21, however the store’s Loss Prevention Officer noticed him immediately, and Mission RCMP attended and arrested the man. The offender is already on court-conditions stemming from a Probation Order and a Suspended Sentence not to attend either location. Mission RCMP are compiling all of the evidence and will be recommending additional charges against the man.

A woman from Hatzic lost around $25,000 after being targeted by a cyber-currency scam. The fraudster first made contact with the woman through Facebook, encouraging her to invest small amounts of money, from which she quickly received profits paid back to her. This led to her investing additional funds, and downloading an app which in turn gave the fraudster full access to her bank account. Her bank eventually froze her accounts due to suspicious activity. Anyone wanting to invest in crypto-currency is encouraged to meet with a reputable financial advisor, and to immediately report any suspicious activity to their bank.

Another attempted utility wire theft occurred, sometime between April 15 and 17, in the area of Stave Lake Street and Watt Street, which is the same location as a previous wire theft. However, on this occasion, it appears as though the suspects were ill-equipped to actually transport the wire they cut, and nothing was stolen, although the damage to the lines was still significant. Any suspicious activity in the area of utility poles or wires should be immediately reported to police.

A witness reported a suspected impaired driver picking up a late-night meal in Mission shortly before 2 am on April 20. Mission RCMP located a 40-year-old man in the driver’s seat of a Ford pickup truck. The man displayed symptoms of being impaired by liquor. He failed two roadside screening device tests, and was issued a 90-day driving prohibition. His truck was impounded for 30 days.

Around 2 am on April 19, a resident in the 11200 block of Sylvester Road reported that someone was breaking into a shop on her property. One offender fled in a pickup truck, but another offender missed his ride, and was left to try to escape on foot. Fortunately, the conditions were ideal for a police dog-track. An officer from the Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service attended and began searching the area. Police first located some discarded items used during the break and enter, then a short distance later, located an abandoned shoe. Sure enough, a short distance beyond that, the police dog located a male hiding near a tree – without any shoes on. The male was arrested without further incident.