News briefs for Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Police are asking for the public’s assistance in finding a missing 63-year-old woman.

Deborah Thompson was last seen in the central St. Boniface area at about noon Tuesday.

She is described as 5-1 in height, with a medium to heavy build and long black hair in a ponytail. She was last seen wearing a purple, older-looking puffy jacket with purple fur, a purple scarf, a purple sweater and black boots.

The Winnipeg Police Service is concerned for Thompson’s well-being and is asking anyone with any information about her whereabouts to call the missing persons unit at 204-986-6250.

The WPS activates silver alerts when a vulnerable adult person is reported missing.

A 50-year-old inmate has died at the Winnipeg Remand Centre, Manitoba Justice said this morning. 

The man died in custody on Friday, a news release states.

“Manitoba Justice extends condolences to his family and notes that for privacy reasons, the province will not provide additional information about the deceased person,” the news release states.

The death has been reported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, as required.

A missing Thompson woman has been found and is safe, RCMP said today.

Stephanie Friesen-Wood, 30, had last seen leaving an Ospwagon Drive residence in Thompson at about 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 18.

RCMP had asked the public Tuesday for help finding Friesen-Wood.

A pedestrian was taken to hospital in critical condition after being hit by a car in Westwood this morning, according to Winnipeg police.

The collision occurred at Westwood Drive and McBey Avenue shortly before 7 a.m.

The driver remained at the scene, said police.

ST. PAUL — Connor Hellebuyck gets the start in goal tonight as the Winnipeg Jets begin a three-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild.

There will be no other lineup changes to the group that downed the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime on Monday at Canada Life Centre in front of backup netminder David Rittich.

That means forward Dominic Toninato and defenceman Kyle Capobianco will be the healthy scratches, while blue-liner Dylan DeMelo remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He participated in the morning skate at Xcel Energy Center in a non-contact jersey.

In other injury news, forward Nikolaj Ehlers underwent surgery this morning in Detroit for a sports hernia. He’s expected to miss between 7-10 weeks as he recovers.

Puck drop tonight is 6 p.m. CT. The Jets then move on to play Dallas on Friday, and Chicago on Sunday.

A convicted sex offender who is considered a high risk to commit more crimes against women and girls has been released from jail.

Winston George Thomas, 45, was released from Headingley Correctional Centre today after serving a sentence for breaching the conditions of his probation order. Thomas has a lengthy criminal record including convictions for sexual assault and aggravated assault involving a 13-year-old girl he didn’t know and adult female strangers.

Thomas is considered a high risk to reoffend in a sexually violent manner against all females, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release.

He is expected to live in Winnipeg.

Cadillac-Fairview Polo Park has issued an apology after a video seeming to portray the arrest of its mall Santa circulated online.

In the video, two men appearing to be part of the mall’s security team are seen placing Santa in cuffs.

It was posted to Instagram Wednesday afternoon, amassing hundreds of comments and likes within an hour.

In an email statement to the Free Press, Polo Park apologized, calling the incident “misguided and unfortunate.”

“To be clear, Santa has not been removed from the property, and there has been no wrongdoing. Any depiction of an arrest was done in jest by the centre’s staff and was an error in judgment,” said a Polo Park spokesperson.

 

A pedestrian who was hit by a vehicle in Westwood this morning has been upgraded to stable condition, according to Winnipeg police.

The woman, who is in her 40s, was taken to hospital in critical condition after the collision occurred at Westwood Drive and McBey Avenue shortly before 7 a.m.

The driver remained at the scene, said police.