Estevan Police Service members are investigating a report of a suspicious man driving a dark blue or turquoise coloured van on the south side of the city.
Police reported on Feb. 24 the man approached a female student at Hillcrest School and offered her a ride home.
The young student declined the offer and headed for a safe location.
Police are advising parents to remind their children of their family safety plans and to report any suspicious vehicles or behaviour immediately.
If anyone has information regarding this particular van or driver, they are asked to remember the license plate number and/or letters and report the sighting to police immediately.
On that same day, EPS members were asked to investigate a theft from a vehicle that was parked in the Pharmasave parking lot on the night of Feb. 22. A wallet was removed from the front seat. Police do not have any suspects at this point so they are requesting the assistance of the public in this matter. If anyone has any knowledge regarding this theft, they are asked to contact the police service at 634-4767 or report it anonymously through Crimestoppers.
On the night of Feb. 24, EPS members were asked to respond to a noise complaint and another call regarding a near collision at a city traffic-light controlled intersection. The offending driver was warned about his careless driving actions and the public is reminded to be careful when advancing on advance green traffic signals and to be extra cautious when winter driving conditions worsen due to ice or snow build up on local roads.
EPS members also placed a call to CPR to repair the safety crossing arms at the central Estevan rail crossing on the night of Feb. 24. The crossing arms had lowered even though no train was present. EPS members directed traffic around the arms until the CPR repair crew could complete the repair.
On Feb. 25, police responded to a report of a person failing to remain at the scene of an accident. EPS members were informed that a semi-tractor unit collided with the power line at the Kensington Ave. and Fourth Street intersection and did not remain at the scene. Police directed traffic at the scene for about an hour while the traffic light was being repaired. Again, they are asking for the assistance of the public in identifying the offending driver and semi-unit that caused the outage.
An intoxicated man at a government building in the city was removed when police sent the man home in a taxi.
On the night of Feb. 25, EPS members responded to a 911 call coming from an apartment on the northeast side of the city. Police noted they were familiar with the residence and its occupants and prepared themselves for a forced entry if required. But when they arrived, one of the occupants of the apartment unit opened the door and police then arrested a 28-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman. The female is facing charges of assault and obstruction of police officers, while the man is facing a more serious charge of aggravated assault since it was believed he had endangered the life of the woman with his actions. Emergency medical personnel also attended the police station to assess the physical condition of the woman who did not require further treatment.
On the night of Feb. 28, EPS members were kept very busy dealing with various complaints and lending assistance to other agencies.
One of the assistance calls came from the local detachment of the RCMP regarding a vehicle entering the city that needed to be stopped. The truck in question had been seen entering Estevan on the north side at a high speed. EPS members encountered the vehicle as it reached Wellock Road on Souris Ave. They performed a traffic stop and arrested the driver and charged him with dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.
Shortly after this incident was concluded, EPS members were called upon to investigate a matter of someone failing to remain at the scene of an accident.
A more thorough check into the matter led police to made the determination that the complainant was falsely reporting an accident and thereby they arrested the 35-year-old Estevan man and charged him with impaired driving and mischief for leading them on a false crime trail. The man was lodged in cells overnight and was scheduled for a March 2 court appearance.
EPS then responded to a report of a train derailment on the west side of the city. Since the event had occurred outside city limits their duties were reduced, but they provided assistance to the Estevan Fire Resecue Service personnel as well as to the local RCMP detachment members and CP police.
On the night of March 1, EPS members conducted a traffic stop on the west side of the city on Highway 39 with a 24-year-old Estevan man being arrested and charged with being in possession of an illegal substance for the purpose of trafficking. Police seized more than 60 grams of cocaine and more than 230 grams of marijuana. The drugs were assessed as having a street value in excess of $11,000. The man was taken into custody and a Monday morning court appearance was scheduled.
On the morning of March 2, EPS members were advised that a vehicle had been spotted travelling through a school zone while almost hitting a group of children near the facility located on northwest side of the city.
Police were also asked to remove a woman from a residence because of her disruptive behaviour. The woman left the home without any further interruptions and the matter was closed.
Police also closed down a portion of Fourth Street for about a half hour and helped conduct traffic as a semi-tractor and trailer unit was forced to back up the hill near the rail overpass and then take a detour around the city. The driver of the unit informed police he had been given incorrect information regarding the height of the rail trestle and his load was obviously too high to pass under it.
