The family of missing Merritt-area ranch manager Ben Tyner has announced an increase in the size of the reward for information about him that could also lead to charges in his suspected death. In a post on Facebook, Jen Tyner says the reward has grown to 30-thousand dollars after the owner of a Merritt ranch added 15-thousand dollars to the total. The 33-year-old was last seen leaving the Nicola Ranch on horseback in January 2019 and his body has never been found. His riderless horse was found unharmed a few days later. Police say they believe Tyner is the victim of homicide. Jen Overstreet T

For the second year in a row, Surrey’s Vaisakhi Khalsa Day Parade – considered the world’s largest with more than 500,000 spectators annually – has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers at Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar confirmed the April 24 event will not proceed in order to comply with provincial health orders restricting mass gatherings. Vaisakhi, which marks the creation of the Khalsa in 1699, is the most significant day in the Sikh calendar. Parade spokesman Moninder Singh told Connect News Team that families will celebrate in smaller, private ways this year. “

Canada's top doctor says now is not the time for Canadians to increase their contact with others in light of a recent rise in average COVID-19 case counts across the country. Dr. Theresa Tam says this upswing combined with an acceleration of new variants of the virus in Canada is cause for concern. She says the most up-to-date stats indicate the percentage of Canadians with immunity to COVID-19 remains low, even as governments have been ramping up their vaccination efforts. And since today's case numbers reflect the situation in Canada two weeks ago, Tam urged Canadians to continue to keep th

The Surrey RCMP General Investigation Unit (GIU) is investigating a suspicious fire that occurred last night in Whalley. On March 15, 2021 at approximately 11:30 p.m., Surrey RCMP was called to assist the Surrey Fire Service with a vehicle fire, in the 10700-block of 133 Street. Upon arrival, officersfound a vehicle in the carport of a residence fully engulfed in flames. The vehicle sustained significant damage while the carport was moderately damaged, no one was injured as a result of the fire. The investigation was assumed by the Surrey RCMP GIU who located evidence suggesting the fire was s

The Transportation Safety Board will conduct a broader investigation into the deadly sinking of a tugboat last month along British Columbia's north coast. Two men died and one survived when the Ingenika sank Feb. 11 south of Kitimat while towing a barge, which remained afloat. A data collection investigation has been completed by the board but a spokesman confirms a wider investigation is now planned looking for any contributing factors or safety deficiencies. Chris Krepski says an investigation page will soon be posted on the board's website and a report will be released when the probe wraps

BC's police watchdog is investigating to determine whether police actions are linked to the injury of a man in Kamloops on Friday night. RCMP say in a statement that an officer was on a routine patrol when he saw a fight in progress and placed one man under arrest for assault. They say, "an interaction occurred" before the man was taken into custody and he complained of injury en route to the RCMP detachment. The Mounties say emergency services brought the man to a local hospital, where it was determined he was suffering from serious injury. Police released no further information as the provi

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says there is now enough ``real-world evidence'' to show the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is both safe and effective for seniors.The decision reverses a recommendation made by the body on March 1, when the panel of vaccine experts said AstraZeneca hadn't included enough people over the age of 65 in its clinical trials.NACI chair Dr. Caroline Quach said Tuesday that two studies of patients who received the vaccine in the United Kingdom have been released since then and show the AstraZeneca vaccine is both safe and effective for seniors, par

Delhi reported 425 new COVID-19 cases and one related death in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 6,44,489 in the national capital, informed the Delhi health department on Tuesday.According to the health bulletin, as many as 257 people recovered in the national capital from the disease in the said period. With this, the total number of recoveries in Delhi goes to 6,31,056 so far. However, the active number of COVID-19 cases in the Union Territory stands at 2,488.The cumulative death toll in the national capital has now reached 10,945.The cumulative positivity rate of COVID-

A Delhi Court while disposing of the anticipatory bail applications moved by Nikita Jacob, Shantanu Muluk and Shubham Kar Chaudhari said that the investigating agency/Delhi police would give seven days prior notice to the accused, in case they intend to arrest them in the 'Toolkit' document case related to the farmers' protest.Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana observed that when arrest becomes unavoidable, advance notice of seven working days shall be given to them to avail remedies.During the course of the hearing, Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Atul Srivastav appearing for the De