The recent mystery of untraceable 911 calls routed through the cellphone tower on Whimster Road might have been solved, Creston RCMP Staff Sgt. Bob Gollan said on Monday.
Police now believe that many of the calls were made by a developmentally delayed person who was being given old cellphones to play with by a care provider. That person, he said, was unaware that cellphones that are no longer tied to a service plan continue to be able to transmit 911 calls. The mystery was solved by an RCMP clerk, Gollan said.
“I don’t know how she figured it out, but it will save us a lot of time trying to track down where the calls came from,” he said.
Several calls were received last week before the discovery was made.
Police Beat
Creston RCMP responded to 67 calls from Jan. 20-26, Gollan said.
January 20
•Police were called to a Mallory Road residence, where a person was causing a disturbance.
•A male was found to be in breach of a no-contact probation order on 36th Avenue.
•Police are investigating a report of a dog poisoning, garbage dumped in a yard and threatening emails at an Evans Road residence in West Creston.
•Police attended a Highway 3 residence to keep the peace while government representatives removed some of the residents.
•An Eighth Avenue South residence was visited to assist Calgary Police Service in an assault investigation.
•A well-being check was made at a Canyon-Lister Road residence.
•An Elm Street female reported receiving inappropriate text messages.
January 21
•A Cook Street resident complained of getting threatening text messages.
•Another report in a series of landlord-tenant disputes on Haskins Road was received.
•A disoriented female wearing only lightweight clothing on Hillside Street was transported to hospital. Police were called to help hospital personnel in controlling her a short while later.
January 22
•A female driver was hospitalized after she failed to negotiate a turn on Erickson Road and rolled her vehicle. Creston Fire Rescue personnel were called to use the Jaws of Life to get her out of the vehicle.
•A hospital patient left the premises wearing “very little clothing” but was gone when police checked the area.
•A complaint about child abuse at an 11th Avenue North residence will be investigated by the appropriate provincial agency.
•An intoxicated male who was refused entry to his Seventh Avenue North home was arrested and held in police cells until sober.
•A checkstop on Lower Wynndel Road resulted in a warning to a driver who was unable to produce a license.
January 23
•Police assisted Abbotsford RCMP by issuing a subpoena to a Regina Street resident and later acted for Nelson City police by doing the same favour at a Sixth Avenue South residence.
•A compressor and two chainsaws, Stihl and Husqvarna, were stolen from a Bodor Road residence. The compressor was found nearby.
•A phone was reported stolen from a Seventh Avenue North residence.
•Police were unable to locate the source of gunshots reported in the Ibbitson Street area.
•A 32nd Street resident complaining about receiving hang-up phone calls was advised to dial *69 after the calls to determine their source.
•Police are investigating a possible assault after an argument between two males on 15th Avenue North who had been drinking.
•January 24
•Police have requested a warrant for the arrest of a male who fled after an alleged assault at a Riverview Road residence.
•A large quartz mineral sample was stolen from an 11th Avenue South residence. The owner reported seeing a male running from the home.
•An investigation of reported senior abuse on Cedar Street indicated the allegations were unfounded.
January 25
•When police responded to a possible assault on Sixth Avenue North, the female in the dispute said there had only been an argument.
•Some U.S. cash and an old CPR lock were stolen during a break and entry to an 11th Avenue South residence.
•Search and rescue volunteers were mustered to bring an injured snowmobiler out of the bush during the night.
•A 62-year-old male died suddenly in his Sixth Avenue North residence. The cause of death is not considered suspicious.
January 26
•A female driver who drove into a garbage bin at Canyon Street and 16th Avenue North refused to provide a breath sample when police suspected she had been drinking. Her license was suspended for 90 days and her vehicle was towed and impounded for 30 days.
•Police received a report from Canyon Street that two sets of feet and legs were visible from under some bushes, and that strange sounds were emanating from the scene. Police later located the pair, who were under a court-mandated no-contact order.
•A male was arrested after a domestic assault on 16th Avenue North.
•A Lower Wynndel Road resident reported that a suspicious female was at the door, asking to use the telephone.