Surrey RCMP is requesting the public’s assistance in locating a missing adult female. Ashley Ulmer-Brown was last seen at approximately 6:00 pm on February 6, 2021 in the 15100 block of Edmund Drive in Surrey. She has not been heard from since. Ashley Ulmer-Brown is described as a 26-year-old Caucasian female, 5’9″ tall, 123 lbs. and light complexion with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. (See attached photograph). There is no clothing description as this time. Police and family are concerned for her health and well-being. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of this person is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP
R-C-M-P in Coquitlam say there is no evidence so far to suggest an abduction has happened in the Tri Cities area, though Corporal Michael McLaughlin says police are investigating a report of a potential abduction attempt. The Mounties say they’ve seen growing “rumours” on social media about abduction attempts and aggression toward women. They say posts about a suspicious van or vehicle following women are scaring people and some even suggest carrying weapons. Angela MacDougall, executive director of Vancouver-based Battered Women’s Support Services, says sexual violence is prevalent yet often minimized and police shouldn’t be discouraging the sharing of information.
The Better Business Bureau is warning B-C residents about a recent uptick in scam calls related to people’s Amazon accounts. The mainland B-C spokesperson for the bureau, Karla Laird, says they’ve received a flood of reports about the scam recently. Laird says people are calling claiming to be Amazon employees, but they’re trying to get credit card information and other details. She says the bureau got approximately 28 calls about the scam in December, 98 in January and it’s received about 40 so far in February.
COVID-19 vaccines are expected to start flowing into Canada again — after weeks of delays and disruptions. Government officials say Pfizer is set to begin shipping doses our way after upgrading a production line at its facility in Belgium. Some 70-thousand shots are due this week, and then more than 300-thousand are due for each of the following two weeks. There is still a question about Moderna’s vaccine — the country’s only other approved vaccine — which has no new shipments listed. on Friday Provincial health officials reported 471 new COVID-19 cases and six new deaths in B-C , but they say there are signs that the efforts of residents are working.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association claims federal plans to force international travellers to quarantine in hotels may infringe on citizens’ mobility rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Association lawyer Cara Zwibel wants the government to produce evidence that returning passengers are breaching the current requirement to self-isolate at home. And she is suggesting the two-thousand-dollar hotel quarantine cost could be prohibitive for lower-income Canadians who need to care for sick relatives or receive specialized medical care abroad.
Donald Trump’s lawyers have filed a brief on the eve of the U-S Senate impeachment trial, blasting the case against him as political theatre. They are attacking the Democrats’ case on multiple grounds, arguing it is unconstitutional because Trump is not a sitting president and that it must be dismissed. There will likely be no witnesses called, and Trump has declined a request to testify. He has been holed up at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida and has not made any public comments since leaving the White House.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl LV champions after completing a victory that exceeded expectations and made all kinds of history on Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. In dominating the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9, the Bucs won their second Super Bowl and became the first team to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium. Quarterback Tom Brady secured his seventh Lombardi Trophy, two more than any player in NFL history and one more than any entire NFL franchise has achieved.
BC has announced 1,236 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the past three days. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there have also been 13 additional deaths, bringing the total to 1,259. Henry says 40 cases of COVID-19 variants have now been confirmed in BC — 25 of the variant first found in the UK and 15 cases of the one from South Africa. She says all but one of the UK variant cases are linked to travel or close contacts with those who have travelled but it’s unclear how four cases of the South Africa variant were acquired.
Some provinces are relaxing COVID-19 restrictions effective today. There are loosened rules in Quebec, Alberta and Nova Scotia.
The Ontario government has announced it’s easing restrictions in some parts of the province starting Wednesday. The provincewide state-of-emergency won’t be extended, however, most regions will remain under stay-at-home orders. Across Quebec, non-essential stores, personal-care salons and museums have re-opened.
Thirty registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in British Columbia are expected to complete their training this month to prescribe medication to those battling addiction to opioids. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says that while the overdose crisis is not unique to BC, the province is the first in Canada to equip registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses to prescribe medications such as suboxone to those in the grip of addiction.
A 31-year-old Florida man wearing shorts and a pink leotard or swimsuit who ran onto the field during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl has been charged with trespassing. Yuri Andrade was eventually tackled on about the three-yard-line and escorted out of Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. TV stations are reporting Andrade was planted to promote a social media personality’s adult website whose name was on the pink outfit.
DoorDash is buying automated food prep company Chowbotics to expand its fresh meal offerings. The California-based Chowbotics makes a refrigerator-sized robot called Sally that can use prepared ingredients to make up to 65 salads, bowls and other meals. The company says sales of its $35,000 robots jumped during the COVID-19 pandemic as customers looked for touch-free ways to dispense food.