A trip to the Sloquet Hot Springs proved eventful for four Abbotsford men who intervened in back-to-back lifesaving efforts.
The first call came in at 8:45 p.m. on Nov. 17, regarding a woman who entered the Sloquet River to cool off but was caught up in the current. She was carried several hundred metres downstream before she caught herself on some debris, and the four men brought her to safety and performed first aid. She was hypothermic and had badly bruised knees and legs from hitting rocks in the river.
The men were able to warm her up and called the police in Pemberton and ambulance services to the hot springs.
Meanwhile, as the rescuers were on their way to the remote location they received a call from the Chilliwack RCMP after a SPOT rescue beacon was activated for the area at roughly 9:30 p.m. There was a second emergency call from the area regarding a male pinned under an ATV that had flipped on the road. The four men who responded to the woman in the river also helped the man, lifting the ATV off of him and performing first aid.
The police arrived at 10:54 p.m. with emergency services, and the injured male was taken to the Pemberton Clinic and then sent on to Lions Gate hospital with injuries. The driver of the ATV, an 18-year-old Abbotsford female, was also treated for injuries in Pemberton, and faces charges of impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing injury.
Meanwhile the woman who fell into the river was stabilized, and told emergency crews that she would seek medical attention on her own.
Fraud reports continue
The Whistler RCMP received two new reports of Internet fraud this week, neither of which was successful.
In one case, a woman reported on Nov. 16 at 12:31 p.m. that a cheque she was sent was fraudulent. According to her, she was hired via Craigslist to do housekeeping for a homeowner in Whistler for $400 a week and was sent a cheque for $2,750. She was then asked to send $1,950 to a third party and then keep $800 as advance pay for her first two weeks. Luckily she took the cheque to the bank before forwarding the money, and it was confirmed to be fraudulent.
The second case involves rental fraud for a property on the 6100 block of Moritz Street involving three men. The suspect's false name in that attempted fraud was Adam Savage.
For good measure, the police also received a report of in-person attempted credit card fraud this week. According to reports, two males and a female entered a store and proceeded to pick up over $2,000 worth of clothing items. The store clerk, noticing that the name on the back of the credit card had been overwritten with black ink, refused to complete the transaction, and the group quickly left the store. One male — described as Caucasian in his mid-to-late 20s with a slim build and low-cut shirt that revealed arm and chest tattoos — came back to get a bag he left behind. The female is described as Asian, and there's no description of the second male.
If you saw anyone matching this description on Nov. 16, contact the Whistler RCMP at 604-932-3044 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Fraud suspect identified
A 24-year-old Garbriola Island male who is facing charges in relation to a mail fraud using a Whistler post box made his first court appearance last week, and has been identified as Zadok Boucher. He is accused of sending invoices to up to 1,000 businesses for Internet services for $130 or $150, and receiving back some $15,000 from business owners that assumed the invoices were legitimate. The Nanaimo police and RCMP special investigations unit arrested Boucher on Nov. 9 after staking out a business he was expected to visit.
The invoices were from a fake company called Enterprise Corporate Web Hosting. If you received an invoice or paid money, the RCMP want to hear from you. Contact Constable Rutherford at 604-905-1952.
Assault suspect identified
A 36-year-old Mt. Currie male who punched a male outside a Whistler nightclub in early October made his first court appearance yesterday. Sundance Finlay is suspected of punching a Lower Mainland man in the face, resulting in the victim being hospitalized for several days with a head injury.
RCMP speaks to Loitering man
The Squamish RCMP stopped and questioned a male after he was noticed by parents outside Brennan Park Rec Centre gymnastics on Nov. 16.
They spoke to the male and then contacted the RCMP, who attended the rec centre to find that the man had already left. However, the parents were able to provide a vehicle licence plate and description, and soon after the police identified and interviewed the man.
At this stage there is nothing to suggest any criminal intent. The male is not from Squamish and has not been connected with any similar investigations. He was also cooperative and articulated his reasons for watching the class. He also said he was aware how his presence could be seen by others.
The RCMP say that the parents were right to call the police and encouraged residents to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior, as well as to know where their children are at all times.
