A female from Williams Lake is safe thanks to her cellphone.
At approximately 10:05 p.m., Monday, April 8, 2013, the North District Operations Communications received a 911 call indicating a female friend of the caller was being forcibly confined in a transport truck, RCMP North District media relations officer, Const. Lesley Smith said.
The 26-year-old female (victim) in the back of the truck sent text messages to the caller (complainant) while the suspect drove the truck.
The suspect, the victim's boyfriend, had prevented her from going to work for the past week and had threatened to harm her, the caller told the dispatch centre.
The victim informed the complainant via text message the 24-year-old suspect was driving the truck from Williams Lake to Kitimat, B.C.
According to the complainant, the suspect warned the victim if she called the police he would kill her.
The 911 operator contacted the victim's cellphone service provider to obtain a GPS location, and the information places the truck south-west of Burns Lake.
The information was sent to RCMP detachments along the route.
RCMP, who were familiar with the suspect, were able to identify the transport truck he was driving through the company he worked for, Smith said.
About 90 minutes after the initial report came in, Smithers RCMP on the lookout for the truck, identified the truck by the company name as it travelled west on Highway 16 on the outskirts of Smithers.
RCMP took the suspect into custody and the victim, in the back of the truck, was taken to safety.
“These operators demonstrated excellent teamwork and problem solving during this call," Smith said.
“It was due to their focused, heightened response, their knowledge of contacts and use of resources, as well as the skilled coordination and prioritization of the file, that enabled members to locate the suspect so quickly and rescue this woman.”
The suspect, who's name has not been released is scheduled to appear in court in Smithers to face charges of assault, forcible confinement, uttering threats and breach of conditions.