In a community where safety concerns are already heightened in the wake of the murder of an 18-year-old Armstrong teen, news that a man made sexual remarks to a group of teens on Remembrance Day has added another level of concern.
At approximately 1:45 p.m. on Nov. 11, Salmon Arm RCMP received a report that several youth were approached by a man, who was driving a white Dodge Neon. He made inappropriate comments to the teens, who were walking in the 5200 block of 75th Avenue NE in Canoe, before driving away.
The man is described as white, approximately 40-years-old with black hair tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing a black and grey hoodie. The vehicle is described as an older-model car, but no licence plate number is available. Police would like anyone with information to contact them at the detachment or by using Crime Stoppers.
Sgt. Carlos Tettolowski says the incident in Canoe is not being linked to the Taylor Van Diest homicide.
“At this point, we think we are dealing with an obnoxious fellow... but certainly people are much more on edge in light of what’s gone on.”
With the murder of Van Diest on Halloween night and a subsequent letter sent to the RCMP indicating there would be more violence against women, the RCMP and the local school district took the step of issuing an area-wide safety alert.