logo
Arson a 'strong possibility' in cottage fire in Whiteshell, Manitoba RCMP say

Arson a 'strong possibility' in cottage fire in Whiteshell, Manitoba RCMP say

CBC21-05-2025
There's a "very strong possibility" arson caused a fire that destroyed a cottage on the southern edge of Whiteshell Provincial Park, RCMP say.
Police are investigating a fire in the Block 11 subdivision at Falcon Lake, RCMP said in a news release Wednesday.
Officers received a report about the fire Tuesday at 8:50 p.m., the news release said. The local fire department and the Manitoba Wilfdfire Service extinguished the blaze.
Police said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. Sgt. Paul Manaigre, media relations officer for the RCMP, said arson is possible, but investigators won't know for sure until experts examine the scene.
The fire happened as firefighters continue efforts to control nearby wildfires in Lac du Bonnet, Nopiming Provincial Park and the Ingolf fire along the Ontario border. The fires forced the closure and evacuation of the Whiteshell last week.
No injuries were reported in the cottage fire. Anyone with information is asked to call Falcon Lake RCMP at 204-349-2588 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers online or at 1-800-222-8477.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Officers seize drugs, cash and loaded firearm at High Level traffic stop
Officers seize drugs, cash and loaded firearm at High Level traffic stop

CTV News

time30 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Officers seize drugs, cash and loaded firearm at High Level traffic stop

RCMP officers say they seized a loaded 9 mm handgun along with quantities of cocaine, cannabis, and cash during a July 31 traffic stop in High Level, Alta. Two High Level, Alta. residents face charges after Alberta RCMP officers seized a loaded firearm, cocaine and cash at a traffic stop in High Level. On July 31, members of the Alberta RCMP's community response team and High Level RCMP officers conducted the traffic stop. Following that, police executed a search warrant at their residence. Police seized 167 grams of cocaine, 352 grams of cannabis, a loaded 9 mm handgun, two Rolex watches, three cartons of unstamped tobacco, cell phones and $6, 110 in cash. A 41-year-old woman and a 31-year-old woman were jointly charged with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Cocaine, possession of Proceeds of Crime, Possession of a Firearm knowing the serial number was altered, Possession of a Prohibited Weapon while being prohibited and Possession of a Firearm in a motor vehicle. Both women were remanded into custody. They're scheduled to appear in court in Chateh on Aug. 6.

‘What the heck happened here?' Former OPP Commissioner reacts to London man ‘erroneously released' from police custody
‘What the heck happened here?' Former OPP Commissioner reacts to London man ‘erroneously released' from police custody

CTV News

time30 minutes ago

  • CTV News

‘What the heck happened here?' Former OPP Commissioner reacts to London man ‘erroneously released' from police custody

A man who was 'erroneously released' after appearing in court on attempted murder charges has been re-arrested by the London Police Service (LPS). Cody Anthony Leblanc Ashe, 28, of London was located and arrested outside the city by LPS, two days after he was let go accidentally. Police said the arrest was conducted by members of the LPS Investigative Response Unit, with the assistance of the LPS Mobile Surveillance Unit, Emergency Response Unit, Patrol Operations Investigative Section, Major Crime Section, and Bail Compliance and Warrant Apprehension Unit. 'My initial reaction to this was what the heck happened here?' said Chris Lewis, former OPP Commissioner and CTV News public safety analyst. 'I'm sure that's what the police officials and the Attorney General and Ministry of Solicitor General officials are all thinking. Time will tell on that, but we shouldn't have dangerous offenders just kind of absentmindedly or through some clerical error, be released from custody into society.' Chris Lewis Former OPP Commissioner and CTV News public safety analyst Chris Lewis speaks with CTV London via Zoom on Aug 3, 2025. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) Friday evening, LPS frantically sent out a news release and spoke to local media asking for the public's help in locating Leblanc Ashe. Police were worried as they considered Leblanc Ashe a threat to public safety. 'He should be in custody in relation to several serious charges, including attempted murder,' Wright told CTV News. 'He should be considered armed and dangerous.' Acting Insp. Maria Wright said he was not released by LPS and was in the custody of the Ministry of the Solicitor General. Speaking to LPS Saturday, they were still looking for more details from the Ministry as Leblanc Ashe was not in their custody at the time of his accidental release. CTV News has reached out to the province for details on how this could have happened but has yet to receive a response. 'There is still a lot of unknowns about what happened here and there has been some big mistakes made somewhere here,' said Lewis. Lewis admits it has been a long time since he 'did policing' in London and worked with the courts or Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC). 'I recall a time where either the police or court security staff/correctional employees of some sort, brought the individuals that were in custody to London Court and brought them up into the courtroom and then brought them back at the end of the day,' he said. 'Some real high-profile offenders were brought both ways by police because they were bikers or something fairly significant. In this case, they were likely brought by court transportation officers. That should have been brought back after that. So somehow or another where did this guy suddenly get told, okay, you can go now? During the ride back, when he got to the jail? It's very difficult to tell at this point but somebody needs to find out what the heck happened, so it doesn't happen again.' Leblanc Ashe is accused of attempted murder and other charges. He was arrested in October 2024 after a man was hospitalized with serious injuries a month earlier on Boullee Street in London, Ont. London police Boullee Street shooting London police surround a townhouse complex on Boullee Street in London, Ont. on Sept 11, 2024 after a shooting sent a man to hospital with serious injuries. (Source: CTV News London) Lewis credited the LPS for their quick action. 'Good for London police to get the message out correct and deal with other police services and ultimately captured this guy. That's a good news story,' Lewis said. 'The bad news story is that this is an obvious slip up on the part of someone. London police say it's Minister of Solicitor General staff, which would mean correctional services staff. So, there'd be a lot of discussions going on around how this occurred and how it should not ever occur again.' Police said Leblanc Ashe remains in custody and thanked the public for assistance with 'several tips our investigators followed up on which assisted with the swift resolution of this investigation.' Lewis said several high-profile people have been brought in and out of the London Courthouse over the years, including Outlaw Motorcycle gang members. Like the public, he'll wait for answers to what went wrong. 'Luckily it happened in this case and not something worse,' said Lewis. 'But at the very same time, public safety was jeopardized by the fact this guy was released.'

‘They're real people': Mob focus of JFK assassination flick filmed in Winnipeg
‘They're real people': Mob focus of JFK assassination flick filmed in Winnipeg

CTV News

time30 minutes ago

  • CTV News

‘They're real people': Mob focus of JFK assassination flick filmed in Winnipeg

A film crew works on the set of "November 1963" in Winnipeg in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Allen Fraser/November 1963 (Mandatory Credit) WINNIPEG — Nicholas Celozzi has spent much of his life revisiting the events leading up to the assassination of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy. Hushed stories filled his childhood home. Conversations with his uncle Joseph (Pepe) Giancana, brother to Chicago Mob boss Sam Giancana, later helped shed light on his family's possible involvement in one of the most debated moments in American history. After decades of film and television portrayals of Sam Giancana, Celozzi is reconceptualizing the 1963 shooting of Kennedy with a focus on the major players in the Chicago Outfit, a powerful Italian-American criminal organization. For Celozzi, his latest screenwriting endeavour is about more than telling another assassination story. It's about family. 'My family, my cousins, really got tired of people using our name, monetizing our name and telling a fake story,' Celozzi said in an interview. 'These aren't fictional people ... they're real people. They're vulnerable, they have nerves, they make mistakes, they are not quite sure about things.' Sam Giancana, head of the Chicago Outfit in the 1950s and 1960s, was widely known for his ties to the Kennedy family. He was gunned down in his home in 1975, and his killing remains unsolved. Many have speculated the Mob group also played a role in Kennedy's assassination, and this is explored in Celozzi's 'November 1963,' which began filming in Winnipeg this summer. Relying on Pepe Giancana's stories, Celozzi focuses on the 48 hours leading up to the assassination. Giancana, a fill-in driver for his brother, had been a fly on the wall in the days leading up to the assassination, said Celozzi, who is also one of the producers on the independent film. Many conversations led to what Celozzi calls the 'Pepe chronicles,' a series of stories detailing the family's Mob ties. 'I was always aware of who they were. These aren't things that everybody just kind of goes home and talks about. It's an awareness. It's kind of a strange reality that you're born into,' said Celozzi. Pepe Giancana died in the mid-'90s, leaving his stories with Celozzi. The writer said he knew he wanted to do something to honour his family's history without degrading them to caricatures often found in Mob flicks. So he began working with Sam Giancana's daughter Bonnie Giancana to craft the script. Over the course of several years and rewrites, Celozzi said they worked to ensure every detail was accurate. 'I needed to keep that honest with the story Pepe gave me, or why do it at all? If I wasn't going to be truthful to what he gave me, there was no purpose in me doing it,' said Celozzi. He brought veteran Canadian producer Kevin DeWalt of Minds Eye Entertainment on board to produce the movie, which wrapped shooting in Winnipeg last week and goes into post-production in Saskatchewan. 'I don't think the family's proud of what happened ... it was important for them to tell the truth before they die,' DeWalt said. The cast includes John Travolta, Dermot Mulroney and Mandy Patinkin and is directed by Academy Award nominated English filmmaker Roland Joffé. When it came time to pick a location that could mimic 1960s Chicago and the landmark Dealey Plaza in Dallas, where Kennedy was killed, producers chose Winnipeg over other major cities such as Atlanta and New Orleans in part because of its Exchange District neighbourhood. Producers decided Winnipeg was a perfect stand-in for the Windy City. Dealey Plaza, and the famous Grassy Knoll, was built from scratch at Birds Hill Provincial Park, northeast of Winnipeg. The film features 1,500 extras and 75 to 80 period cars to accurately portray the time period. DeWalt said he expects viewers will be blown away by the film's ability to bring a new level of authenticity and validity to the moment in history. 'People will walk out of the theatre with their own impressions about what it all means,' he said. 'At the end of the day, at least we've given them the tools for one of these things that's been told, and they can make their own impressions in terms of how they feel about it.' When asked if he thinks the film might ruffle feathers with historians, governments or Mob members, Celozzi said that's not his goal. 'What I'm doing is just putting in that missing piece, not glamorizing, just writing it.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2025. Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store