At 9:17 p.m. the Whistler RCMP received a call from residents on Alta Lake that a canoe carrying two males had capsized and they were screaming for help. The RCMP answered the call with Whistler Fire Services, which has a rescue boat.
The two males were in the water for 10 to 15 minutes before they were rescued. Both were cold, but showed no signs of hypothermia and were released. The canoe, which capsized when it was hit by a wave, was also saved.
Neither man was wearing a life preserver, although one of the men was holding onto a lifejacket when he was plucked from the water. They are identified as a 22-year-old Whistler male and a 27-year-old from Squamish.
The RCMP is reminding everyone to wear a life jacket or personal floatation device when boating on the lakes.
Teens pay to fix conservation fence
At 8:18 a.m. on June 7, the Whistler RCMP received a report of campers on the spit at Green Lake who destroyed a new fence that was created to protect breeding bird and nesting habitat along the shoreline. They burned the fence overnight.
The police attended along with a bylaw officer and a representative from the municipal works yard. The youths were informed that it would cost $500 to fix the fence and they agreed to pay to avoid other potential charges.
All of the youths, three females and four males, are Whistler residents and were born between 1983 and 1989.
Stolen bike recovered
On June 7, the Whistler RCMP received information from a bike shop owner in Banff that a former employee alleged to have stolen a bike before he left town in April was likely in Whistler. The shop owner identified the bike, a 2011 Giant Reign X-O worth $5,000 retail, in the classified section of a popular mountain bike site .
The RCMP was able to locate the 22-year-old and the bicycle. He was arrested for possession of stolen property under $5,000 (based on the wholesale price of the bike).
More thefts reported in Pemberton
There were additional reports of break-and-enters in Pemberton this past week and the RCMP is investigating whether the same person or persons are involved.
On June 8 at 2:04 a.m. the RCMP responded to an alarm at a restaurant in Pemberton. When officers arrived they discovered that the front door had been pried open, and that the thief had taken a flat screen Samsung television.
At 7 a.m. that morning the RCMP received a report of a break-in at a business where the lock was broken. The thief or thieves stole a Mill Spectrum 2050 plasma cutter valued at $3,500.
On June 11 at 2:15 a.m. on the 7400-block of Cottonwood Court, the RCMP received a call from a woman that someone had opened the front door of her townhouse. On investigation, she discovered that the thief had used the door to access the garage, where the person stole a Norco Fluid bike worth approximately $2,000.
Outside, two trucks had been broken into and the doors found open, both of which are under investigation. A Carrera bike was found on the scene that wasn't owned by the residents.
At 8:48 a.m. that morning the RCMP received a call regarding another break-in to a vehicle on Aspen Boulevard that took place the previous night between 7:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Cash was taken from the vehicle, as well as a burgundy Blackberry.
On June 13 at 4:05 p.m. the RCMP received a call regarding the theft of a CCM bicycle from outside a house on the 7400 block of Cottonwood.
If you have any information about these incidents contact the Pemberton RCMP at 604-894-6634 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Whistler man robbed in mystery shopper scam
A Whistler man is out $3,500 after being taken in by a mystery shopper scam.
The incident happened on June 2 and was reported to the police on June 12. According to the report, he was hired online to be a mystery shopper by a man calling himself Bob Wilson. They sent the man a cheque for $3,950 and to take out $3,500 in cash to wire to an address through Money Mart - on the pretense of testing Money Mart's customer service. However, he was later informed by his bank that the cheque had bounced and that he was in overdraft.
The scammers also contacted the man to try to get him to do the same thing a second time.
The RCMP are investigating and tracking the money order. People should be aware that numerous online scams do exist and never to exchange cash for a cheque. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.
