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Police dog locates suspect who fled road check

Sunshine Coast RCMP

A Gibsons man learned the hard way why it’s never a good idea to flee from a police road check — especially when there is a police dog on patrol.

Around 1 a.m. last Saturday, Jan. 31, members of the Sunshine Coast RCMP were conducting a Counter Attack road check on Highway 101 in Roberts Creek, when a southbound vehicle veered off onto the shoulder when it came into view of the road check. The male driver of the vehicle fled into heavy forest nearby.

“Unfortunately for the driver, also at the road check was a member of the RCMP’s Integrated Police Dog Service and her trusty police service dog, Drago,” said media relations officer Const. Harrison Mohr.

“Officers set up containment around the area of forest where the male fled into, and the officer and her dog went to work. The pair tracked the male through the forest, and located the suspect hiding under an embankment near a large creek.”

Once located, the 32-year-old man from Gibsons complied with police direction and was arrested without incident.

“This is a great example of how having a specialty service such as a police dog can assist us in ways that humans alone could not do, in this case, tracking a scent into a dark forest,” Mohr said. “The Sunshine Coast benefits from this integrated team, as this service is available to our community and across the RCMP Lower Mainland District when needed.

“We were fortunate to have Drago that evening.”

The Integrated Police Dog Service regularly attends the Sunshine Coast, working with general duty officers and performing specialty duties as needed.

After the male was arrested, police seized a quantity of marijuana from him, impounded his vehicle and issued him a driving prohibition, as he had been driving without a valid driver’s licence.