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Night rescue for 16-year-old snowboarder

Male student from Massachusetts rescued from Cake Hole area

Whistler Search and Rescue undertook a dangerous night rescue to come to the aid of a 16-year-old male student from Massachusetts. The teen got lost on Mar. 6 in the Khyber area and wound up in the Cake Hole area near Cheakamus Lake.

Rescuers were in touch with the teen on his iPhone, and used photos he took of his surroundings - and his own directions hearing the helicopter - to locate him by around 5:30 p.m. However, there was nowhere in the area to safely land and it was too late in the evening to convert the helicopter for a long line rescue.

The boy had been spotted by another 34-year-old skier from Squamish who was also lost in Khyber earlier in the afternoon, but had managed to find his own way out. There were a lot of skiers and snowboarders in the area and it was still the early afternoon when their paths crossed, so they went in their separate directions.

The teen had attempted to hike back into the ski area, sweating with exertion and freezing in his jacket. With no jacket for warmth Search and Rescue decided that a night rescue was necessary to ensure his survival.

A team took a groomer to the entrance of the out-of-bounds area and carefully skied down in the dark. With GPS coordinates from the helicopter they found the teen and gave him hot tea and something to warm his body.

When he had warmed up, the crew escorted him out of the Cheakamus Lake area and he was reunited with his teachers and classmates after 11:30 p.m.

 

Suspect arrested in school break-in

At 12:53 a.m. on Mar. 8, the RCMP was notified that the motion sensor alarm at Myrtle Philip had been tripped, and sent a patrol to investigate. They located a suspect near the school with a guitar and a cut on his hand. He was intoxicated when he was picked up.

They walked around the school and found a broken window at the back of the school with the open guitar case plainly visible.

The 30-year-old Australian was scheduled to leave Canada in a month, and was held in custody until he could appear before the Justice of the Peace

 

Man bitten in village altercation

A fight that started at the Village Gate Taxi Loop spilled over to Lot A outside the Whistler Conference Centre, then ended when a friend of one of the combatants and a passerby stepped in.

When the police attended the scene they found a man with a cut on his cheek, which was sustained when the other man in the altercation bit him.

The RCMP say the man is described as six foot and 180 pounds with short brown hair and a medium build. He spoke with a British accent.

 

Impaired drivers back on the road

After a quiet few months on the roads, the RCMP stopped five impaired drivers last week - mostly in connections with other traffic violations.

On Mar. 1, just before 8 p.m., the RCMP stopped a vehicle that was speeding at Highway 99 and Nesters and that had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting another vehicle at the intersection. The driver, a 33-year-old male from Whistler, was later arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs when a pill believed to be ecstasy was spotted on the floor of the vehicle. During a search of the car and the person they found another pill in the car, and four capsules containing an unknown substance in the male's pocket.

At 12:44 a.m. on Mar. 4, the RCMP made a traffic stop at Blackcomb Way and Village Gate. The driver admitted to consuming four beers in two hours and failed the roadside test. A 28-year-old male from Vancouver received a 90-day driving prohibition, 30-day impoundment and other penalties associated with the province's Immediate Roadside Prohibition laws.

At 10:35 p.m. on Mar. 4 the police stopped a vehicle after they observed that the male was not wearing his seatbelt. They detected the odour of liquor, and the male blew at the warning level on the approved roadside-screening device. He received a three-day prohibition and three-day impoundment.

On Mar. 6, the RCMP received a report of two vehicles driving on the Village Stroll. They stopped the first vehicle with two occupants, and the driver claimed that they couldn't find the road after playing a show. The RCMP noticed a bottle of alcohol by the driver's seat that resulted in a warning - three-day impoundment, three-day prohibition for the 21-year-old from Maple Ridge. The other vehicle was stopped by another police patrol, driving through the village with others hanging off the side. The driver, a 21-year-old from Mission, failed his test and received a 90-day prohibition and 30-day impound. It's unknown if the drivers knew each other.

On Mar. 7 at 12:38 a.m., the police stopped a woman who was talking on her cell phone. They detected an odor of alcohol, and the 42-year-old female driver from Squamish failed, triggering a 90-day prohibition and 30-day impoundment.