A hike into Lost Lake Park to pick mushrooms turned into an all-night ordeal for a Whistler woman last week when she lost her way after following the Comfortably Numb bike trail.
According to the RCMP, a woman in her 50s left her residence in Nicklaus North at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 and when she didn't return by 6:50 p.m. her husband called the RCMP to report her as absent. Search and Rescue was called in and members walked several trails in the park, but it was already late in the evening to begin a search.
More members were mobilized for the next day and a helicopter called in, but in the meantime the woman found her bearings and walked out. She headed down to the train tracks along Green Lake and walked towards the north end of the lake where she was spotted at 8:55 a.m. on Oct. 22 by an acquaintance who was joining the Search and Rescue efforts.
Eyewitnesses using the trail earlier in the day confirmed that they saw her on the Comfortably Numb trail in the afternoon, and was heading north.
"It should emphasize that she did the right thing. When she realized she was lost she stood pat and hunkered down for the night, and she was able to find her way out in the morning," said Sgt. Steve Leclair of the Whistler RCMP.
Craiglist scam targets landlord
The existence of several Whistler Craigslist scams targeting tenants has been documented in the past, but a recent scam reported to Whistler RCMP turns the tables and targets landlords.
According to the RCMP a prospective tenant from the U.K. contacted a landlord in Whistler with the intention of renting a house for $3,800 per month. The person wired the landlord a cheque for the first month's rent, but later contacted the landlord to back out. He asked the landlord to return the money by Western Union money transfer, and said he would accept $3,600 to compensate the landlord for his troubles.
The landlord complied but realized later that the initial cheques sent by the renter were no good. He contacted the Whistler RCMP on Oct. 21 to report the fraud. RCMP, in turn, have contacted Interpol to try and identify the person behind the suspected fraud.
It wasn't the only cyber-crime reported last week. One Whistler resident sold his watch online through Craigslist and was sent a phony payment record from PayPal. He sent the watch to the phony buyer after getting the phony receipt, and contacted the RCMP when he discovered the fraud.
The transaction took place two weeks ago, and RCMP received the report on Oct. 22. They are now investigating the address where the watch was shipped and picked up.
Bikes continue to go missing
Bike season may be wrapping up but the recent rash of bike thefts is continuing in both Whistler and Pemberton.
On Oct. 20 A Whistler resident reported the theft of a blue DHi GT bicycle that was locked outside a home on the 3000 block of Hillcrest. The theft likely took place around Oct. 18.
As well, a local bike rental shop contacted the RCMP on Oct. 20 after a young Asian couple did not return four bikes rented from the shop on Oct. 10 and 11. The credit cards used to rent the bikes were discovered to be cancelled, and were possibly stolen.
In Pemberton, a Giant Yukon hard tail bike, large frame, was stolen from a front yard on the 7400 block of Flint Street and reported to the RCMP on Oct. 20. The bike was not locked.
On Oct. 25 the RCMP receive a report of a kid's size BMX bike with silver finish that was leaning against a garage in Alpine Meadows that was taken on the afternoon of Oct. 25.
Police investigate stolen vehicle
Vehicles continue to go missing in the region. The most recent theft was a blue 1997 Toyota Tercel four-door vehicle from a secured underground lot on Northlands Boulevard. The vehicle was last seen on Oct. 24 at 5:30 p.m. and it was reported missing at 1 a.m. the following morning. Several personal items were taken along with the vehicle.
The vehicle had Quebec plates, licence number 441 CAL.
