A woman is out $1,000 after answering an ad for a room for rent on Craigslist.
The ad, including photos, was for a suite on the 4300 block of Northlands Boulevard. The landlord requested $1,000 — $500 for rent and $500 for damage deposit, which the woman sent by money order to the Philippines. The landlord then called back for an additional $755 for a processing fee, at which point the woman became suspicious and contacted the RCMP.
People are reminded not to send money through wire services to rent rooms in Whistler. Always request a face-to-face meeting and don't hand over any money until you have seen the place in person and are in possession of the key.
Purse recovered after vehicle break-in
On Dec. 17 the RCMP received their sixth report in three weeks of a vehicle break-in in the underground parking area at Creekside. The thief broke the passenger-side window and took a purse, which was later found at a nearby restaurant. The woman parked her car at 2 p.m. and returned at 3 p.m. to discover the break-in.
The RCMP is still investigating, but members of the public are reminded not to leave valuables in their car in plain view.
If you saw anything suspicious, contact the RCMP at 604-932-3044 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Two head-on crashes reported in storm
A snowstorm on the afternoon of Dec. 14 contributed to two head-on crashes in the Whistler area.
The first crash occurred just north of Nordic Drive at roughly 5:45 p.m. when a northbound vehicle lost control and crossed the centre line. The vehicle struck the back of a southbound vehicle, the barrier and another southbound vehicle before it came to a stop.
The driver of the northbound vehicle, an 18-year-old Whistler resident, had to be cut from her car and taken to the Whistler Health Care Centre. The drivers of the other two cars that were involved also went in for medical attention, but all of the injuries were minor.
The highway was closed temporarily, and reopened for single lane alternating traffic for the next few hours while the scene was cleared. The driver responsible was ticketed for "speed relative to conditions."
Less than 15 minutes after that accident, the RCMP received a call regarding another head-on collision on Alta Lake Road — possibly involving drivers that were taking the alternate route to avoid the first accident.
According to RCMP, a pickup truck lost control rounding a corner and the other vehicle was unable to avoid the collision. The drivers did not require medical attention, but vehicles were heavily damaged.
A 20-year-old Whistler male received a ticket for speed relative to the conditions.
The RCMP reminds drivers to slow down during inclement weather and to drive to the conditions.
Intoxicated man destroys police cell
A 30-year-old from Belgium spent four days in police cells and will pay $600 after damaging a cell at the RCMP detachment.
The police received a call at 3:50 a.m. on Dec. 16 regarding a severely intoxicated man on Balsam Way. The police attended and found the man lying down on a driveway, a hood pulled over his head.
The man's friend had attempted to get him into a taxi earlier, but the driver would not take him. The intoxicated man became aggressive towards the driver at that point.
The RCMP arrested the man for public intoxication and brought him back to police cells to spend the rest of the night. It should have ended there but the man broke the fire suppression system inside the cell and flooded it.
Police could not release the man because he was considered a flight risk, so he was held in cells until a Justice of the Peace could perform a hearing.
Peter Welslau pleaded guilty to the charge of Mischief under $5,000 and was sentenced to five days in jail to cover his time served and was handed a restitution order to pay for the damage.
