News briefs from Squamish Fire Rescue, Squamish RCMP and the Squamish Emergency Program:
The RCMP caught up with three teens accused of breaking windows and computer monitors at Brackendale Elementary School on Sunday ( July 24).
Cpl. Dave Ritchie said a resident living near the school called police at 11:30 p.m. to report windows were heard breaking at the school.
Police attended and found several broken windows. The vandals used rocks to break the windows and then threw more rocks through the broken windows at computer monitors inside the school.
Ritchie said the trio was hanging around the school and the group admitted to causing the damage. Ritchie added that the two girls and one boy were not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The youths ranged in age from 14 to 17.
Specialized equipment and tools stolen
Police were alerted to a break and enter at the power production facility on the Upper Mamquam River on Monday (July 24).
Workers reported specialized tools and equipment unique to the power plant were stolen from a main pump house.
Cpl. Ritchie said the concern is that the items, which are of significant importance to the power company, will be sold for scrap.
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact the Squamish RCMP.
Destructive drunks caught
Three young men who were smashing signs and making a significant amount of noise at 2:45 a.m. on Saturday (July 23) were apprehended and arrested by police.
Ritchie said the trio went on a vandalism spree, breaking signs and damaging property on Tantalus Road and in the Garibaldi Springs area.
The 19-year-old and two 20-year-old friends were all charged with being drunk in public, causing mischief and causing a disturbance.
Ritchie said all three were heavily intoxicated and they were making disparaging comments about the police as they were taken into custody.
All three are scheduled to make their first court appearances on Sept. 28.
Warrant issued for speedy suspect
Police were involved in a foot chase Monday (July 25) after a break and enter was reported in the 39000 block of Government Road.
After the break and enter, two suspects were identified and one was spotted by a member of the RCMP.
The member initiated a lengthy foot pursuit that ended at a wooded area near the Squamish River estuary.
The suspect eluded arrest, because Ritchie said the young man was fast and knew the trails well in the estuary.
In trying to locate the man, police found three stolen bikes and recovered some electronics stolen from the home on Government Road.
One of the suspects has a previous warrant for his arrest.
The RCMP continues to search for the suspect.
Fake American bills circulating
Money handlers who get American $20 and $50 bills are encouraged to check the bills carefully before accepting them.
Cpl. Ritchie said a number of fake $20 bills with the serial number CG31028033A have turned up in Squamish.
The police have a strong lead from video surveillance footage captured at the Brackendale General Store. Ritchie said the surveillance system captured the image of a young shopper who used a fake bill at the store.
Two charged after highway accident
The RCMP and members of Squamish Fire Rescue (SFR) went to Hwy. 99 and Scott Crescent on Saturday (July 23) after a 1977 Chevy Nova was hit from behind by a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am.Ritchie said both vehicles were southbound when the Nova stopped to turn left onto Scott Crescent.
The Grand Am hit the Nova and pushed the older car into the ditch.
The 22-year-old female driver of the Grand Am was charged with driving without due care and the male driver of the Nova was charged with driving without a valid drivers license.
The accident caused delays through the afternoon.
Two arrested for weapons, drugs
A man and woman from the Lower Mainland are facing multiple counts of weapons possession, drug possession and possession of stolen property after being arrested near Whistler Village on July 19.
The pair, whose names were not released pending the formal laying of charges, was arrested by Whistler-Pemberton RCMP near Blackcomb Way south of Village Gate Boulevard on Tuesday evening.
Police received a report of a vehicle in which a man was observed handling what appeared to be a 9-millimetre handgun.
The 36-year-old male from Coquitlam was found on foot near the vehicle. Police then proceeded to the vehicle, where they arrested the 23-year-old female passenger without incident.
An initial search of the vehicle revealed a number of weapons such as a BB gun, extendable baton and pepper spray as well as drugs and drug paraphernalia, RCMP Cst. Devon Jones said in a statement.
Further investigation revealed that the man was wanted for multiple warrants in the Lower Mainland and that several items found in the vehicle were reported stolen. Police believe the pair may be responsible for various thefts and frauds in the Sea to Sky corridor.
Cpl. Dave Ritchie said suitcases found in the vehicle being driven by the suspects were reported stolen by some visitors who lost the luggage while they were stopped in Squamish. The visitors also lost their credit cards, Ritchie said.
Canoe tips on river
Two Squamish men were rescued from Baynes Island on the west side of the Squamish River last Friday (July 22).
The RCMP asked for help from the Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers with the Squamish Emergency Program at 4:30 p.m. after a 911 call was placed from a wireless phone by one of the men.
The pair was stranded just south of the confluence of the Cheakamus and Squamish Rivers and needed help to get across the Squamish River.
The canoe the men were in flipped over and became wedged in a logjam. The pair was able to make it to shore safely.
Search Manager John Howe said two SAR members returning to the Squamish Airport in a helicopter on a routine work flight located the pair and relayed their coordinates to SAR volunteers at the base of operations.
Three members of the SAR water rescue team quickly reached the pair in the SAR jet boat and transported them back to their vehicles.
Rescuers said they were not able to recover the men's canoe.
Kingswood home damaged by fire
SFR was called to a home on Kingswood Sunday (July 24) at 6:48 a.m. after a fire started in an upstairs bathroom.
Firefighter Bob Fulton said two fire companies were paged out to the home with 18 firefighters attending.
The firefighters kept the fire damage restricted to the bathroom but Fulton said other rooms suffered smoke and water damage.
The crew left the home at 8:32 a.m. and Fulton said the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
