News briefs for Monday, July 31, 2023

Winnipeg motorcyclist dead after collision with tractor

10:50 AM

A 61-year-old motorcyclist from Winnipeg died Friday after a tractor collided into him on Highway 8.

RCMP say the motorcyclist and farmer collided at about 11 a.m. in the intersection of Highway 8 and Siglavik Road in the Rural Municipality of Gimli. When officers arrived from the Gimli detachment, the motorcycle rider was dead.

Mounties say the 72-year-old tractor driver from Gimli was pulling a discbine west on Siglavik Road when it hit the motorcycle, which was going south on the highway. The tractor driver stayed at the scene and is cooperating with police, RCMP say.

RCMP traffic investigators are probing the circumstances of the collision.

IIU investigating after man dies following RCMP detention

1:16 PM

The province’s police oversight agency is investigating after a man died in hospital following a brief detention in an RCMP detachment cell.

The Independent Investigation Unit said the death occurred July 26. First Nation safety officers had found an incapacitated man on a road in Peguis First Nation at about 12:32 a.m. and arrested him under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act, the IIU said. Fisher Branch RCMP picked up the man and took him to the detachment’s cells, until he said he needed medical attention at about 2:15 a.m.

Paramedics assessed him and took him to hospital in Gimli, then the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, where he was later pronounced dead, the IIU said on Monday.

The IIU, which investigates most serious incidents and all fatalities involving police in Manitoba, is probing the man’s death.

Two teens dead in rollover: RCMP

1:38 PM

Two teenagers are dead and two others are in hospital after their vehicle rolled and hit a utility pole in the Rural Municipality of St. Clements on Sunday night.

Selkirk RCMP were called to the crash on Henderson Highway about six kilometres north of Highway 44 at about 11 p.m. Sunday, where they found the vehicle, Mounties say.

The driver, who was an 18-year-old man from St. Clements, and an 18-year-old woman from Tyndall were pronounced dead at the scene. A 17-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl were taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.

RCMP, who think speed played a role in the crash, have determined the vehicle was going northbound when it lost control and entered the ditch, where it rolled and collided with the pole. Selkirk RCMP and a traffic investigator are still probing the circumstances of the collision.

Sea Bears lose star forward for playoffs

2:08 PM

The Winnipeg Sea Bears will be without star forward E.J. Anosike for the CEBL playoffs.

Anosike has left Winnipeg’s professional basketball team to pursue an opportunity with the Nigerian national squad.

The Sea Bears host the Edmonton Stingers on Friday night in a postseason play-in game. The winner will head to Calgary to play the Surge on Sunday.

Children rescued from northern lake

2:52 PM

Five children had to be rescued from a northern Manitoba lake after the dock they were on broke away from the shore over the weekend.

The children ranged in age from seven to 14 years old. They were stranded on the dock drifting downstream on Footprint Lake across the RC Channel in Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, 850 kilometres north of Winnipeg, when Nelson House RCMP got the call at 7:50 p.m. July 28. Four of the children were from the First Nation, and one was from Thompson. They were all reunited with their parents after RCMP launched a boat rescue.

“We are very glad this had a happy ending,” said Sergeant Shaun Sample, Nelson House RCMP Detachment Commander. “Of course they weren’t wearing life jackets; they were on a dock tied to shore, so to be free-floating in a current without a life jacket would be a very frightening ordeal for them. We were all very relieved to get them safely on the boat and back to their parents.”

14-year-old boy reported missing

3:01 PM

A 14-year-old boy has been missing from the Centennial neighbourhood for nearly a week.

Dustin Norman was last seen on the afternoon of July 26 in the area of Lydia Street and McDermot Avenue, the Winnipeg Police Service stated Monday. Police are concerned for Norman’s well being and are trying to locate him.

He is described as 5’6” tall, weighing 120 lbs, with short blonde/brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a black sweater, blue jeans, black runners and a baseball cap when he was last seen.

Police are asking anyone with information on Norman’s whereabouts to contact the Winnipeg Police Service Missing Persons Unit at 204-986-6250.

Norway House home invasion under investigation

3:21 PM

Two Norway House men were arrested after a reported home invasion in the northern Manitoba community July 29.

RCMP stated the Norway House detachment received a report of a home invasion at approximately 1:30 a.m. and spoke with four victims, who reported two armed males entered the home and threatened the occupants with a knife and a sawed-off rifle.

A fight occurred before police arrived. One of the suspects fled, and the other was held until officers placed him under arrest. A 35-year-old man was arrested and a 34-year-old man will be arrested after he’s released from hospital. He suffered serious but not life threatening injuries, RCMP said.

RCMP continue to investigate.