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Wednesday, April 15, 2015
www.interior-news.com
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Body found in Bulkley River By Kendra Wong Smithers/Interior News
Bulkley Valley Search and Rescue recovered the body of a missing person on the Bulkley River last Wednesday morning. Last Tuesday night, search and rescue received a call about a missing person and deployed roughly 15 people as part of their swift water team on the water and shoreline search team along the river. They also received mutual aid from the Houston and Terrace SAR groups. “We searched until dark on Tuesday night and we had teams back on the river on Wednesday morning and we found the subject on Wednesday morning,” said Fred Oliemans, president of the Bulkley Valley Search and Rescue. He was unable to say where exactly the body was found. “It’s a tragic incident,” said Cpl. Dave Tyreman with the RCMP. Tyreman said the case was originally a missing persons case, but has now been handed over to the coroner’s service. Oliemans wants to remind residents to be cautious on the river. “The rivers are in a state now that they’re coming up, they’re rising. They’re exceedingly dangerous,” he said. “The banks are going to become unstable as the water rises and erosion happens and the water is very cold. If people are going to be around the river, be very cautious.”
SCHNAI DAI A SPLASHING SUCCESS Not all skiers were able to traverse the pool on Hudson Bay Mountain during Sunday’s Slush Cup. The event was a crowd favourite for the hundreds gathered for Schnai Dai. This year’s theme was Rockin’ Through the Ages, which saw visitors from around the world dressed in outfits from all rock eras.
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Deadly week on local roads By Alicia Bridges and Kendra Wong Smithers/Interior News
Two men died and another was airlifted to Vancouver with lifethreatening injuries in a tragic start to April on northern roads. The first fatality occurred near Moricetown, when 47-year-old Randy Basil Mitchell of Smithers was killed in a single-vehicle crash on April 4. Mitchell was a passenger in the rear seat of a vehicle travelling westbound when it left the highway and rolled at Corya Creek at about 1:30 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The other three occupants were transported to Bulkley Valley District Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The B.C. Corners Service and RCMP Traffic Services are investigating his death. On April 6, William Edward Gush was killed in an accident on Babine Lake Road. The 61-year-old Telkwa resident had pulled over and was standing next to his pickup truck when another pickup travelling in the same direction struck his vehicle, and then struck him. Police and emergency services found him deceased at the scene. RCMP said last week the driver of the second vehicle was being investigated for impaired driving causing death. On April 8, a 20-year-old man was airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital with life-threatening injuries after a serious car rollover in
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Gitwangak. Three people, who are all related, were travelling in the older model vehicle when it rolled at the 100 block of Bridge Street. The 20-year-old male was transported to Wrinch Memorial Hospital before being airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital with lifethreatening injuries. A 24-year-old woman whose injuries were not life-threatening was transported to Vancouver General Hospital via Terrace, and a 23-yearold man received treatment at Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace. All three people are from the Gitwangak community. Hazelton RCMP was last week investigating the crash with assistance from Terrace and Prince George RCMP traffic services.
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