Suspect charged in missing person case linked to earlier homicide
Credit to Author: Stephanie Ip| Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2019 21:20:07 +0000
A suspect charged with attempted murder in a missing person case has now been linked to an earlier homicide, say RCMP investigators.
On Aug. 9, Williams Lake RCMP were looking into an incident on the Rudy Johnson Bridge, about 22 kilometres north of the city, when a vehicle matching the suspect vehicle description from an Aug. 6 homicide was spotted nearby on Highway 97.
A brief police chase ensued with officers able to stop the vehicle near Airport Road, where three people were arrested. Two have been released pending investigation into flight from police charges.
Jayson Gilbert remains in custody and has since been charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection to the Rudy Johnson Bridge incident, which police say is being treated as a missing person investigation. Investigators are now searching for Branton Regner.
While charges have not yet been laid in the Aug. 6 homicide, police believe that killing and the Rudy Johnson Bridge incident are connected.
Just before 1 a.m. on Aug. 6, police were called to a Williams Lake home in the 1100-block of Mackenzie Avenue where a 43-year-old man had been gunned down in his driveway. The man did not survive.
“These remain active investigations for the Williams Lake RCMP and North District Major Crime Unit,” said Insp. Jeff Pelley with the Williams Lake RCMP.
“It is important that any potential witnesses, or people that may have information about these incidents, contact the police.”
Anyone with information about Regner’s whereabouts, the bridge incident or the Aug. 6 murder is asked to contact Williams Lake RCMP at 250-392-6211.