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‘They think I’m the bad guy’: Woman out for a run in Chilcotin gets surprised by RCMP

Leona Oler was out for a run on a rural road when the RCMP helicopter starting following her
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Williams Lake RCMP were searching for a driver who they say fled the scene of a single vehicle motor vehicle incident Tuesday, Sept. 15. (Photo submitted)

When Leone Oler went out for her daily walk and run on the remote Meldrum Creek Road Tuesday, Sept. 15, she was worried about running into a black bear — not the police.

But, just a few kilometres into her run on the narrow gravel road Oler she noticed she wasn’t alone.

“I started running and then I noticed this RCMP helicopter,” Oler said.

Oler said she had received a phone call from her daughter earlier in the morning who was checking to see if she was OK after seeing reports of a vehicle crash on Meldrum Creek Road but was unaware that the matter coincided with a police investigation involving an alleged fleeing driver.

Oler said the RCMP helicopter circled her and then followed her for about a half hour until she ducked into a neighbour’s home.

“I was a little bit worried,” said Oler, who called her sister-in-law who told her the police were searching for someone. “I was thinking ‘they think I’m the bad guy.’”

Once she realized the situation, Oler said she left her neighbour’s house and approached the RCMP, who she said ‘swarmed’ her.

READ MORE: UPDATE: Williams Lake RCMP stand down search for Highway 20 motorist

“I can understand from the air it would be hard to tell who I was. They were just doing their job. They told me to go home and lock the doors.”

RCMP later called off the search for a suspect in the area.

Oler, who made a goal for herself to run every day in September, said she’s still going to keep running, except now she’s been hampered by the smoke in the air.



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Leone Oler, 47, was out for her daily run Tuesday, Sept. 15 when she was the subject of a police search. (Photo submitted)


Angie Mindus

About the Author: Angie Mindus

A desire to travel led me to a full-time photographer position at the Williams Lake Tribune in B.C.’s interior.
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