News briefs for Friday, June 30, 2023

Two men dead after fiery Highway 10 collision

10:40 AM

Two men died after their pickup truck collided head on with a semi-truck on Highway 10 Tuesday evening, before the two vehicles burst into flames.

Souris RCMP officers were called to the scene on Highway 10 about five kilometres north of Highway 1 in the Rural Municipality of Elton at about 5:30 p.m., Mounties say.

RCMP say the men, a 38-year-old and a 62-year-old, were travelling south when their truck veered into the north lane and hit the semi, which was being driven by a 39-year-old man from Rivers. The vehicles were then “consumed by fire,” RCMP say.

The men in the pickup were pronounced dead at the scene, while the semi driver was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Local Mounties and a forensic collision reconstruction specialist are still investigating.

First West Nile-carrying mosquitos of the season found in West St. Paul

11:21 AM

Mosquitos carrying the West Nile virus were found in the rural municipality of West St. Paul last week, the first of the season and earlier than usual.

The warmer temperatures are likely the cause of the early showing of West Nile Virus in the province, Manitoba Health said Friday. There have been only three other times in the past 20 years where mosquitos with West Nile Virus were detected in the province this early. There have been no reported cases of West Nile virus in humans this year.

Risk of exposure remains low, but the province is warning that it will increase in the coming weeks, with the highest risk period being in July and August.

Manitoba Health recommends people enjoying the outdoors limit exposure to mosquitos through repellent, wearing light loose-fitting clothing and removing standing bodies of water.

Seven Manitobans contracted West Nile Virus in 2022, and five were hospitalized.

RCMP investigate slaying on Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation

1:19 PM

RCMP major crime investigators are probing a woman’s death in a home on Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation as a homicide.

Manitoba First Nation Police Service officers, who have jurisdiction over the community, were called to the scene at about 3:15 p.m. Thursday.

They found the woman, 24, dead in the home and called for RCMP assistance. The victim’s identity has not been made public.

Major crimes Mounties and forensics officers have taken over the case. RCMP have announced no arrests.

Selkirk RCMP search for two men considered armed and dangerous

2:28 PM

RCMP are searching for two men they believe are connected to a home invasion in Selkirk, Man., Wednesday morning.

Around 5:50 a.m., three men, one armed with a firearm, broke into a home on Morris Avenue, RCMP said in a release Friday.

Mounties arrested one suspect the following day. Roderick Stevenson, 37, is charged with discharging a firearm with intent, assault with a weapon, careless use of a firearm and breaking and entering with intent. He remains in police custody.

Investigators have identified two other suspects and issued warrants for their arrests.

Chad Hayden Langlois, 38, and Justice Sydney Langlois, 28, are both wanted for similar charges.

Chad Hayden Langlois is described as 6′, 215 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Justice Sydney Langlois is described as 6′, 210 with black hair and brown eyes.

Both men are considered armed and dangerous. They may be carrying a firearm, and police urged the public not to approach them.

Anybody with information is asked to contact investigators at 204-482-3322, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or submit a secure tip online at manitobacrimestoppers.com.

Bomb squad to detonate ‘volatile substance’ on U of M campus

2:55 PM

Winnipeg police advised people in the area of the University of Manitoba that they might hear the sound of an explosion Friday afternoon as the bomb unit disposes of a “volatile substance” found on campus.

“Out of an abundance of caution, there will be a controlled detonation of the substance at a nearby outside location. A safe perimeter has been established, and the area has been cleared,” police said in a release issued around 2:30 p.m. Friday.

A separate release from the university identified the substance as a “potentially unstable chemical” found inside the Parker building that morning.

People in the area may hear what sounds like an explosion sometime after 4 p.m., police said. University officials said it is expected to sound like a loud firework. Members of the public are asked to avoid the area.

The Parker building will be cleaned and reopened after the chemical is disposed of.  No impact on air quality is expected, the university release said.

The university intends to review its chemical storage protocols in the wake of the discovery, the release said.

Mounties search for suspect accused of abducting teen

3:44 PM

RCMP are searching for an 18-year-old Winnipeg man accused of abducting a teenage girl in Portage la Prairie early Friday morning.

Mounties allege the 16-year-old girl was assaulted and then abducted by the accused, who she knew, from a home on 10th Street NW in the small city west of Winnipeg. He forced her into his vehicle, Mounties say, and threatened that he was armed with a gun, which a witness had seen earlier that night. He then drove off toward Winnipeg at about 12:30 a.m.

Headingley RCMP spotted the man on Highway 1 at about 1 a.m., but he fled an attempted traffic stop and Mounties lost track of him in Winnipeg. City police assisted and found the victim safe at a home on Strathcona Street at about 5 a.m., Mounties say.

Cayden Andrew Lathlin, 18, is wanted on a warrant for kidnapping with a firearm, uttering threats, assault, dangerous driving and flight from police. Mounties ask anyone who knows where he is to call the Portage detachment at 204-857-4445 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

Cops nab suspect in Polo Park shoplifting spree

4:49 PM

A man walked out of a Winnipeg store with pricey headphones he hadn’t paid for a dozen times in the last month before he was caught, police said Friday.

A man visited a store in the 1400 block of Portage Avenue — where the CF Polo Park mall is located — 12 times between June 1 and June 28, police said in a release. On each occasion, the man picked up several pairs of wireless headphones, valued at $440 each, and walked out without paying.

A suspect was arrested on June 28 after officers observed one of the thefts underway, police said.

In total,  35 pairs of headphones worth $15,400 were taken from the store over the 28-day-period, police said.

A Winnipeg man faces 13 counts of theft under $5,000; one of the charges is connected to a theft reported at a different store in the same area.

Police said the investigation is part of a larger project, “Project Falcon,” aimed at addressing “an alarming rate of retail theft” in the area.