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RCMP urge caution after child propositioned

The RCMP are asking the public to be vigilant after a four-year-old boy was approached by an unknown male outside their home on the 2700 block of Cheakamus Way.
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The RCMP are asking the public to be vigilant after a four-year-old boy was approached by an unknown male outside their home on the 2700 block of Cheakamus Way.

According to the report, a man in a blue truck drove up while the boy was playing in the yard and said something to the effect of, "Son, come with me. We're going to Kindergarten." The boy didn't respond and the man left. When the boy went inside he told his parents. The incident took place on Feb. 27 and was reported to police the next day.

The RCMP don't have many details, other than the boy's memory of an adult male in a blue truck with a black dog. The boy did not recognize the male or the truck from the neighbourhood.

The RCMP stress that they have not received any similar reports lately, but are sharing this file with the public to make residents aware of the incident. If anyone has any information, contact the RCMP at 604-932-3044.

Charges recommended in highway crash

Sea to Sky Traffic Services are recommending a charge of dangerous driving causing bodily harm after a head-on crash on Feb. 18.

The crash occurred at 7:30 p.m., one kilometre south of the Culliton Creek Bridge, when a vehicle crossed the centre line and hit another vehicle. According to Sea to Sky Traffic Services, the victim is still in the hospital.

Meanwhile no charges have been laid yet in a Jan. 28 head-on crash that left a 52-year-old limo driver dead. The collision occurred just south of Function Junction. The investigation is continuing and police are waiting for toxicology reports to be complete before recommending charges to the Crown against a 19-year-old from Calgary.

Suspects in car theft arrested

Two people from D'Arcy are facing theft charges in relation to a vehicle break-in reported on Feb. 29.

According to the RCMP, a male noticed another male in the passenger seat of his friend's car on the 3200 block of Blueberry at roughly 6:20 p.m. When confronted the man fled to another nearby vehicle that drove away. The first man took down the plate number and called police, who located the vehicle and arrested two suspects in connection with the theft of a wallet. The suspects are a 34-year-old male and 52-year-old female.

The wallet was not recovered.

Long line rescue called in for skier

At 5:55 p.m. on Feb. 29, the RCMP received a report from Whistler Blackcomb ski patrol that a male skier was missing in the area below the 7th Heaven Express chair on Blackcomb Mountain. The male was part of a group that had ventured into the backcountry, but fell behind because of malfunctioning skins.

The skier was described as 19 and fit. Whistler Blackcomb Ski Patrol used snowmobiles to patrol the road below 7th Heaven, and groomers were informed to keep an eye out for the individual.

The next morning the male was located using the GPS coordinates of his phone in rugged terrain with cliffs, creeks and trees. A long-line rescue with a helicopter was required to help him out.

There was another Search and Rescue call in Pemberton on Mar. 4. They received an alert from a Spot beacon advising that the situation was non life-threatening.

It was soon established that the message was sent by a guide that was taking a dozen skiers into the backcountry. One of the female members of the group injured her knee, and was unable to ski out.

Rescuers attempted to recover her by helicopter the next morning, but because of the weather they couldn't take off. In the afternoon, after it became apparent that the weather would not cooperate, Search and Rescue members rescued the woman by snowmobile.

Other members of the party skied out under their own power.

Drivers still talking on phones

B.C.'s tough new distracted driving laws came into effect in January 2010, prohibiting drivers from using electronic devices while driving unless they are hands-free, but you wouldn't know it after a month-long sweep by police traffic service in the Lower Mainland.

During the month of February, Lower Mainland Traffic Services handed out 4,449 tickets for people talking on cell phones and using other devices while driving — almost double the 2,300 tickets handed out during the previous year's sweep.

"I am extremely disappointed in these results as it shows that drivers aren't taking the dangers of using handheld devices while driving seriously," said Superintendent Norm Gaumont, who is in charge of traffic services across the Lower Mainland. "It just means that we must continue delivering the message and educating the public on how dangerous distracted driving really is. They are putting the lives of others and their own at risk by not paying attention to the road. Traffic patterns change very quickly, especially in an urban centre as there is no time to put down your phone and react to the change."

The number of fatalities where distracted driving was a factor is down, from 46 in 2010 to 27 in 2011.

Sea to Sky Traffic Services also participated in the blitz, and are putting their numbers together for a provincial report that will be released soon.