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RCMP still searching for drowning victim

Memorial held Monday for boyfriend who tried to save her

The RCMP have not given up in their search for Amy Wong.

Sgt. Shawn LeMay with the Whistler detachment said Tuesday that members are continuing their search for the woman from the Lower Mainland who went missing August 6 after plunging into the Cheakamus River on a fly-fishing trip.

"We are still looking for the female," LeMay said. "We've suspended our formal search but as recently as (Tuesday), a couple of investigators were still going to the area to see if there was more that we could do.

"We are still making some efforts, communicating with family, but we don't have anything further to report."

The RCMP has not officially identified the couple at the wishes of the families but Facebook and other media have identified them as Wong and Justin Chan, 34.

The incident occurred Saturday, August 6 when Wong and boyfriend Chan were fly-fishing in the fast-flowing Cheakamaus River close to the Cal-Cheak campground.

It's believed that Wong thought she caught a fish, waded into deeper water and then went under, followed soon after by Chan, who is believed to have drowned trying to save her. Both were wearing chest high waders.

Friends and family held a memorial for Chan at Burnaby's Forest Lawn Funeral Home on Monday. One friend posting on the event's Facebook wall called him a "great all around guy" whose "heroism will never be forgotten."

Prairie fire leads to hot situation

A male was arrested in the Village on Sunday after causing a commotion in a bar - upset, it seemed, over his wife downing a shot that made her vomit.

The Whistler RCMP got a call from the BC Ambulance Service in the early morning of August 14, indicating they were responding to a call about a woman who consumed alcohol to the point it made her vomit.

It turned out she'd downed a shot combining tequila with Tabasco sauce - known colloquially as a "Prairie Fire" - without realizing what she was consuming and then proceeded to get sick immediately.

Later that day, at about 11:58 in the evening, a caller from a Village pub notified the RCMP that a male, later identified at the woman's husband, was throwing glasses in the bar.

"The subject was apparently with the staff of the pub over what had allegedly occurred the previous night in relation to his wife being sick from a drink she had consumed," LeMay said.

"The husband was subsequently held by pub staff as police were responding but he quickly fled the scene and took off running."

The male was located by police shortly after and arrested for causing a disturbance, but he was later released without any Criminal Code charges and issued a municipal bylaw ticket for causing a nuisance.

Police find shotgun in unlocked truck parked in Lot 8

The Whistler RCMP attended a vehicle in Lot 8 on Saturday evening and found a shotgun in an unlocked pickup truck.

Police notified the municipality's bylaw services department that they found an insecure vehicle with a firearm inside. Members found the shotgun on the cab floor in the rear seat of the truck's cab. The gun was unloaded and the safety was on.

RCMP members seized the shotgun before its registered owner returned to the scene. The owner, a 23-year-old male from Whistler, was arrested without incident and charged with careless use of a firearm.

Male pushes female officer into traffic

On Friday night at about 1:40 a.m. an RCMP member was travelling southbound on Highway 99 to follow up on an investigation when a male subject ran out on to the highway.

The officer abruptly stopped her vehicle and found a 32-year-old Vancouver male "clearly intoxicated" who approached her on the driver's side and demanded a ride, saying it was "critical" that she "do her service to the country."

The officer tried to arrest the male for being intoxicated in public but the male shoved her on to the highway, and then fled towards Whistler Way in the direction of the Village Stroll.

"She didn't get pushed into a car, still pretty serious though," LeMay said.

Backup officers tried to assist at the scene. One saw the subject running near the Whistler Conference Centre. The male then jumped on a patrol car and started yelling profanities at police.

A third member assisted at the scene and the subject was arrested without further incident as he continued yelling profanities at police.

The individual was released the following morning on a promise to appear in North Vancouver Provincial Court October 12 to face charges of assault and obstructing a police officer.

Bike thefts continue in Whistler

Whistler RCMP continued to grapple with bike thefts over the past weekend as police got a call came August 12 informing them that two bikes were stolen off a second-floor balcony.

On August 12 two bikes were stolen off a second-floor balcony at the residence at Glacier's Ranch on Northland Boulevard at about 2:30 a.m.

One bike is a Scott Gambler 20 ($4,800), black and green in colour, while the second is a Scott Gambler 10 ($9,000), white, red and black and colour. Both were nine-speed bikes.