Aggressive bear shot by Whistler police, escapes into woods

An aggressive bear that made continual attempts to enter a Whistler home was wounded by RCMP early Tuesday, Oct. 14, and has yet to be located by police.

Just before 1 a.m., police responded to a report of a bear entering a home in the 3400 block of Panarama

The bear had entered the home's mud room.

"The complainant and her housemates were trying to hold the door closed as the bear was trying to enter the house," Whistler RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair said. The bear had made several attempts to enter the house earlier in the night, but was unsuccessful.

"The bear was described as being aggressive, snarling at the occupants as they attempted to hold the bear at bay and scare it away," he added.

Eventually police located the bear outside the house, where it continued to show signs of aggression and extreme habituation to humans.

"It remained aggressive to police officers there and the decision was made to euthanize the bear, so it was shot."

The animal was wounded with a rifle, but quickly ran into the nearby woods. Police conducted extensive patrols in the area that extended into the daylight hours but as of press time, the bear had not been located.

Squamish police are concerned about the potential proliferation of an illicit substance being passed off as other common opioids after the overdose death of a man last month.

Officers responded to a report of a death at a residence in late September, and despite early indications that the drug used may have been cocaine, further investigation revealed it was Fentanyl, an opioid being seen with greater frequency across the Lower Mainland, said Sgt. Wayne Pride.

"Our concern is that this has the potential for getting worse," he said. "If there's a trend in the Lower Mainland, we usually see it up here, although it is still a safe community."

The death of the 40-year-old man was the first related to Fetanyl use in Squamish, Pride said, although police discovered a second man in medical distress at the same house on the night of the incident who had also used the illicit drug.

Fetanyl is often passed off as the potent opioid, oxycontin, Pride noted, and is more toxic than morphine.

LeClair said he cannot remember encountering a Fetanyl case in the resort in his years at the detachment.

"It's something our members are aware of, but it's not something I'm aware of in Whistler, anecdotally anyways," he said.

A Scottish man is relieved to be in good health after being stranded on a mountain bike trail near Green Lake last week.

Whistler RCMP received a call from the man around 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, saying he was lost around the midway point of the Comfortably Numb trail. Wearing only a T-shirt and shorts, search and rescue was initiated, although the biker could not be located that night.

By 6 a.m., the man had made his way off the trail and returned to safety without injury, although he failed to notify police.

"There was a little bit of a mix-up in communication. He didn't know the police were still looking for him," LeClair said. "It was a bit of a learning point for us that we should make it clear to people that if they call us and make it out on their own that they should contact us."

With the colder weather and shorter days, LeClair had some tips for those winding down their mountain bike season.

"You want to make sure that you have adequate clothing and if you're cycling late in the afternoon, it's probably not a bad idea to keep a headlamp with you and allow yourself enough time to finish your ride," he said.