Latest news with #SaanichPolice
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Impaired ‘N' driver caught speeding 174 km/h on Vancouver Island highway: police
A Saanich Police motorcycle is seen in this image handed out by the department. Saanich Police say they caught a new driver speeding excessively on Pat Bay Highway in the early hours of Thursday morning. Just before 3 a.m., a patrol officer's laser readings showed the vehicle was travelling 174 km/h in an 80 km/h zone, in the 4000 block of the highway. Police say the driver didn't stop and continued to speed south before turning off at Vernon Avenue. 'Our officer did not pursue the vehicle but did circulate through the Carey Road area and located the vehicle parked on a dead-end side street,' a Friday news release from the Saanich Police Department reads. 'The driver was ordered out of the vehicle and taken into custody.' The driver was also impaired and failed a breath test, police allege. He was handed a 90-day driving prohibition and had his vehicle impounded for 30 days, according to police. The driver also received tickets for failing to display an 'N' decal and for excessive speeding. He was later released from custody and the department says it will recommend criminal charges of flight from police and impaired driving.
CTV News
20-05-2025
- CTV News
Police find body of man missing since 2024 in trailer on Vancouver Island
Kielen Hall, missing since March of 2024, has been found deceased. (Image credit: Saanich Police Department)
CBC
15-05-2025
- CBC
Cougar on the prowl in Saanich's urban Uptown area prompts police warning
Saanich police have issued a public warning after a cougar was spotted prowling around the Greater Victoria city's urban Uptown neighbourhood in several locations Wednesday night. It's the second police warning about a cougar on south Vancouver Island this week after Central Saanich police urged caution after one of the animals was spotted near Saanichton village centre on Tuesday. In a Facebook post made Thursday morning, Saanich police said officers spotted the animal at around 10 p.m. in the 3800 block of Rowland Ave., and later received reports of it walking along the Lochside Trail between Darwin Avenue and Saanich Road in Swan Lake Park. A video posted to a local Facebook page shows the animal walking near a residential complex just north of the Uptown Shopping Centre, across from the city's main fire hall. Police say the animal has been reported to the conservation officer service and the public has been asked to use caution. "If you encounter the cougar walk away slowly and call 911," the post says. According to WildSafeBC, cougars account for approximately 2,500 calls to conservation officers in B.C. every year, though many turn out to be other large cats, and attacks are "very rare." "If you encounter a cougar, keep calm and never run," the agency says.
CTV News
15-05-2025
- CTV News
Police issue warning after ‘concerning' cougar sightings near Victoria
Police in Saanich, B.C., are warning the public after receiving multiple reports of a cougar prowling residential areas near Victoria. The Saanich Police Department says its officers spotted the animal running through backyards in the 3800 block of Rowland Avenue, near the Uptown shopping centre, at around 10 p.m. Wednesday. In a statement, the department says it received several reports about the animal over a 24-hour period. The cougar was last seen on the Lochside Regional Trail through Swan Lake Park, between Darwin Avenue and Saanich Road, the statement said. 'The public is warned to use caution in this area as the behaviour of the cougar is concerning,' according to police. 'Do not approach the animal,' the statement said. 'If you encounter it, walk away slowly then contact 911.' Police say the B.C. Conservation Officer Service has been notified about the sightings. Officers are searching for the animal and urge anyone who sees it to contact police and the conservation officer service. 'Cougar encounters are extremely rare but can be deadly, with children particularly at risk,' BC Parks warns on its wildlife safety website. Anyone who encounters a cougar while small children are nearby is urged to pick up the children immediately and keep the cougar in view while backing away slowly. 'In the highly unlikely event that you do encounter a cougar, stay calm. Never turn your back on one and never run away. Your goal must be to show the animal you are a threat, not prey,' the parks office says. 'If the cougar shows intense interest or follows you, respond aggressively. Maintain eye contact, show your teeth, and make loud noises.'
CBC
07-05-2025
- CBC
Circumstances leading to UVic student's fatal overdose 'shocking,' says drug squad investigator
A drug squad investigator said it was "shocking" to learn how 18-year-old University of Victoria student Sidney McIntyre-Starko came to possess and then ingest the toxic drugs that killed her. Saanich Police Department Const. Ben Scoones made the comment while testifying on the seventh day of the B.C. Coroners Service inquest into the January 2024 death of McIntyre-Starko. Scoones was tasked with investigating potential drug trafficking on the UVic campus a few days after the first-year student died of a fatal fentanyl overdose in a UVic student dorm. "It's such a shocking story that somebody found drugs and then decided to use these drugs as a group without knowing what these drugs were or where they came from," he told the coroner's court jury. In testimony last week, a female UVic student known only as "Student 1" told the inquest that she found a box of unopened wine coolers on a downtown Victoria street after a dance class. Student 1 said she took the wine coolers back to campus on the bus before handing the box over to three friends. The three friends — McIntyre-Starko, "Student 2" and "Student 3" — found a vial of powdery substance in the bottom of the box, according to testimony, and made a decision to snort the substance in a dorm bathroom the following evening. Names of the students are protected by a publication ban. "All three of the witnesses provided the same information and provided the same story [and] there's nothing to contradict that story," said Scoones. Drugs packaged in glass vial unusual, investigator says In his years investigating low-to-mid level drug dealing in the Victoria area, Scoones said seeing drugs packaged in a glass vial instead of a small plastic bag or tin foil is unusual. "That is pretty unique," he said. "It's something you would see in a movie, like a Scarface movie, where you have people using drugs out of small cocaine vials. But it's not something we typically see in Victoria." Scoones said it also wasn't typical for drugs to be left unattended on the street. He testified that he went to the Johnson Street location where Student 1 said she found the wine coolers to try and collect security or CCTV footage, but none was available. There was also no security video of the public smoke pit on the UVic campus where Student 1 testified she handed over the box of wine coolers to the others, he said. Student 2 and Student 3 also overdosed after snorting the drugs, but only Starko-McIntrye died. The coroner's inquest was called after her parents raised concerns about the response of UVic campus security and the length of time it took for fentanyl-reversing Narcan and lifesaving CPR to be administered to their daughter. Forensic toxicologist Dr. Aaron Shapiro testified that individuals who snort the same drugs can experience vastly different effects depending on things like the granularity of the powder, how well the drug is mixed with cutting agents and how deeply it is inhaled into the nasal passages and lungs. Despite the initial test of the drugs indicating it was a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl, the official toxicology report found no trace of cocaine in McIntyre-Starko's system. The level of fentanyl detected, he said, was a potentially fatal concentration. Shapiro, the associate scientific director of toxicology at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, said that the earlier Narcan is given to someone who is overdosing, the greater the chance of survival. The inquest is scheduled to run into next week.
