Cranbrook Daily Townsman, April 16, 2013

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Vol. 61, Issue 73

Proudly serving Cranbrook and area since 1951

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Missing person located at golf course Kimberley woman found drowned in retention pond B A R RY CO U LT E R

The BC Coroner’s Service has confirmed the identity of a Kimberley woman who was reported missing Sunday, April 14, and found deceased in a golf course retaining pond in Marysville the next day. Kimberley RCMP were notified of a missing person Sunday, April 14, just before 6 p.m. Deborah Marie Blais, 55, had gone for a walk with the family dog earlier in the afternoon at Bootleg Gap Golf Course. Later, people on the course discovered the dog struggling in the retaining pond, rescued it and returned it to its home. When Blais did not return, family and friends began searching for her.

Kimberley Search and Rescue members prepare a raft during a search at Bootleg Gap Golf Course, Sunday, April 14. The RCMP and Search and Rescue were called in, and they, along with a police dog, initiated a search of the area.

According to RCMP, it became evident that Blais may have fallen into the retention pond. The RCMP Dive Team was requested.

The next day, Monday, April 15, the dive team located the women, deceased, in the pond. The Coroner’s Service said the pond is

about three metres deep, and held a week’s worth of water for 27 holes. Search and Rescue teams from Cranbrook,

MIKE TURNER PHOTO

Fernie, Creston and Sparwood assisted in the search. Victim Services is assisting the family, friends and coworkers with this tragic loss.

Drive-by shooting accused receives six years jail Dustin Plourde pleaded guilty on April 15 and was sentenced for firing a shotgun at a home in Kimberley

SALLY MACDONALD Townsman Staff

The man charged over a drive-by shooting in Kimberley on April 4 has been sentenced to six years prison. Dustin Fagen Plourde, 28, pleaded guilty in Cranbrook Provincial Court on Monday, April 15 to unlawfully discharging a firearm, possession of a firearm contrary

to an order, and possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition. Crown counsel Lynal Doerksen told Judge Grant Sheard that around 11 p.m. on April 4, RCMP were called to a home on Archibald Street in Kimberley after the residents heard a shot fired at the front door. There were two women and a nine-month-old baby

inside the home but they were unharmed. Police saw bullet holes through the window in the front door. Witnesses reported seeing the shots fired from a dark blue Neon, but RCMP could not locate the vehicle. Two hours later, at 1 a.m. on April 5, the residents of the home called to say the shooter had returned, this

time firing at the kitchen window. The shots had penetrated one pane of the double-paned window, but not the second. The residents of the home told the police they were unclear why their home was targeted. Soon after the second shot was fired, police located a vehicle matching the

description outside a home on Wallinger Avenue, and arrested two people who were leaving the vehicle. They found a sawn-off shotgun inside the vehicle. Five charges were laid against Plourde, while Randy Boehner, 26, was charged with breach of probation. He pleaded guilty on Monday, April 8 and was sentenced to 70 days in jail.

The pair told police that Plourde shot at the residence because he mistakenly believed it was home to members of a drug gang. Plourde’s defense counsel Rick Strahl told the court that Plourde had moved to Kimberley from Strathmore, Alberta, three months ago.

WHAT CHOICE WILL WE MAKE? High Taxes or Low Taxes? * New Jobs or Lost Jobs? * A Strong Economy or the Worst Economy in Canada? Access to Our Backcountry or More Road Closures & Parks? * A Strong Proven MLA or a Rookie MLA?

Our choice has consequences. To keep Kootenay East strong, our choice on May 14th is Bill Bennett AUTHORIZED BY BILL BROCK, FINANCIAL AGENT FOR BILL BENNETT 250-426-3404

See ACCUSED , Page 3


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