Gun amnesty gets results
The Ashcroft RCMP detachment had five firearms turned in during the BC Gun Amnesty, which ran through the month of October. Sgt. Kat Thain says that four people called to ask the RCMP to collect firearms, while one person brought a firearm to the detachment (but left it in the vehicle).
Thain says that this is an “excellent” result, noting that rural detachments do not usually see as many firearms turned in per capita as urban detachments do. She adds that while the most recent gun amnesty ended on October 31, members of the public can contact the detachment at any time to dispose of unwanted firearms, replicas, non-firearms weapons, and ammunition. She asks people not to bring items to the detachment: call and ask for the police to come to you.
During the first two weeks of the amnesty, police across B.C. collected more than 480 items, including a World War I mortar shell from France.
Excessive speed
On October 28, police were called to the two-vehicle collision on Highway 1 near Ashcroft Manor, after one vehicle rear-ended another. There were minor injuries to the occupants, and both vehicles were towed from the scene. Speed was a factor in the collision, and the matter is under investigation; charges may be pending.
Trail of theft
On October 29, police received a report of a suspicious vehicle travelling toward Ashcroft from Logan Lake on Highway 97C. The vehicle, a pick-up truck, was towing a flat deck trailer containing a possibly stolen UTV. Police tried to intercept the vehicle, but were unable to locate it at that time.
A short time later police received a report of an erratic driver on Highway 97C in the same area, travelling at a high rate of speed. It was last seen turning onto Railway Avenue in Ashcroft.
On the morning of October 31 the pick-up truck, with the trailer containing the UTV, was located behind the Ashcroft library building. Police inquiries revealed that the pick-up truck had been stolen from one person; that the plates on it had been stolen from another vehicle; that the trailer had been stolen from a third party; that the plates on it were stolen from another trailer; and that the UTV had been stolen from a fifth party. The various vehicles and sets of plates were stolen in the Kamloops, Monte Creek, and Vernon areas.
The police are looking for the public’s assistance in the case. Anyone who noticed anything to do with the pick-up truck, or who observed a silver or grey minivan in the area where the truck was located, is asked to call the Ashcroft detachment at (250) 453-2216, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.