Tuesday, September 5, 2017

The following are news releases from the North Bay OPP:

The North Bay Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) had a very busy long weekend. 

Officers responded to 107 calls for service which included: 16 motor vehicle collisions, 18 traffic complaints, a fatal house fire in Mattawa, an overdue person in Algonquin Park and several Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) initiatives. 

Friday saw very heavy traffic in the North Bay area due to the closure of Highway 17 east of Mattawa and Highway 69 in the Parry Sound area. This heavy traffic resulted in 7 collision reports on Friday night. 

The Labour Day Weekend included a distracted driving campaign. Officers patrolled the highways and issued 57 Provincial Offence Notices, 6 of which were issued for distracted driving. 

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On Sept.1, 2017, officers of the North Bay OPP were conducting a RIDE program on Highway 17 in the City of North Bay.

A vehicle approaching the officers made a u-turn on the highway away from officers. 

Officers located the vehicle and found that the driver had been consuming alcohol. The driver registered an alert on the roadside screening device and was issued a 3-day driver's licence suspension.

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On Sept. 1, 2017, at 2:17 a.m., officers of the North Bay OPP were on patrol on the bypass in North Bay when they stopped a vehicle for a sobriety check. 

Upon speaking to the motorist, the officer could smell an odour of alcohol emanating from the driver. The driver registered a fail on the roadside screening device. 

The driver was brought back to detachment and subsequently was arrested and charged with Driving with Over 80mgs of Alcohol Contrary to Section 235(1)(b) of the Criminal Code.

Riley King, age 23, of North Bay, was released on a Promise to Appear with a date to attend North Bay court on Sept. 12, 2017.

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On Sept. 2, 2017, at 9:07 p.m., the Mattawa OPP received a call about 2 overdue canoeists near Radiant Lake in Algonquin Park. The two canoeists missed a turn onto the Madawaska River and were separated from their group. 

Party members searched for them but were unsuccessful in locating them. 

On September 3, 2017, members of the North Bay Detachment Marine Unit, OPP Snow Machine, All-Terrain Vehicle and Vessel Enforcement (S.A.V.E.) Team and North East Region Emergency Response Team (ERT) responded to locate the missing canoeists. 

At 1:17 p.m., officers located the canoeists safe and uninjured.