All Whistler alpine trails reopened after aggressive cougar reports
'Operations across both mountains have resumed in full,' reads an update on the Whistler website.
Parts of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park were closed after multiple incidents of cougars chasing, stalking and getting close to people on the trails.
No injuries have been reported, but the B.C. Conservation Officer Service called the cougar behaviour 'unusual and concerning.'
The BCCOS suspects the same two cougars were responsible for trail closures in nearby Garibaldi Park earlier this month.
To date, conservation officers say they haven't found the cougars and no new reports came in over the weekend.
'People are urged to take safety precautions in case of cougar encounters, including carrying bear spray and travelling in groups,' a spokesperson wrote in an email to CTV News Monday.
Cougar conflicts or aggressive behaviour can be reported to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277. Advice on what to do during a cougar encounter can be found on the WildSafeBC website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
‘I almost got taken': Could AI be fuelling more text scams?
It is getting harder for people to spot smishing attacks as scammers turn to AI to make their text messages seem more legit. John Vennavally-Rao explains. When Janean Compton received a pair of text messages this week claiming she had a speeding ticket, her first reaction was to wonder if they were legitimate. The texts said she could avoid a court date by clicking a link to pay the fine. A believable scenario, she thought, given there are enforcement cameras in her area and she had received a real ticket earlier this year. But something felt off. 'I thought, you know what? I'm going to Google this to see if it's a scam,' Compton told CTV News from her Oshawa, Ont. home. Her quick search confirmed her suspicions. The messages were a scam. She posted a warning on Facebook. 'I almost got taken, but I didn't click on the link,' she said. 'I don't know what would have happened if I clicked on the link. I just blocked the number.' Competition Bureau Canada says scams like this are becoming increasingly common, warning Canadians to be on alert for so-called 'smishing' attacks. Smishing, which is a blend of the texting term SMS and phishing, involves fraudulent text messages created to look like they're from a government agency, bank or legitimate company. They often include links that, if clicked on, can install malware or lead to fake websites that steal personal or financial information. 'We do see an increase in it over the last several years,' said Josephine Palumbo, deputy commissioner for Deceptive Marketing Practices at the Competition Bureau. Experts say fake texts once stood out because of poor grammar or spelling mistakes. 'Spelling mistakes used to be a tell, particularly when people had to write these messages themselves, and often it was people who didn't necessarily speak English as their first language,' said Angus Lockhart, a senior policy analyst with The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University. One of the reasons these scams may become more frequent or harder to detect is artificial intelligence (AI). Now scammers are using tools like ChatGPT. 'ChatGPT spells perfectly every time, it never has any typos. So, anyone can write in coherent English with perfect grammar now,' Lockhart said. 'You have to be much more careful, even if the message looks like it's legitimate.' Jeff Horncastle of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said fraudsters are also using AI to personalize scam messages by searching for information about potential victims on the internet, as well as automating the mass creation of them. 'Some of the messages may include some of your personal information as an extra way to try to convince you that it's a legitimate message,' said Horncastle who notes his organization has actually received fewer reports of smishing this year compared to the first half of 2024. Such messages often include a sense of urgency, a tactic meant to pressure recipients into reacting before thinking. Experts urge people to slow down and try to verify the source. They also say don't click on suspicious links and ignore texts even if asked to reply with 'STOP' or 'NO.' 'Whenever you receive a suspicious text message, remember that most legitimate organizations will not be asking you to reveal personal information through an email or text message,' Palumbo told CTV News. Common smishing scams include fake Canada Revenue Agency refunds, Canada Post delivery updates and highway toll notifications. 'I got a text message just yesterday pretending to be a parcel delivery service that needed my information to help complete the delivery, and I'm not waiting on any packages,' said Compton. The goal of smishing is often identity theft, targeting credit card numbers and other sensitive personal information. The Competition Bureau advises people to forward suspicious text messages to 7726 (SPAM.) 'This will let your phone providers actually block future texts from the same number,' said Palumbo. Horncastle noted that fraudsters will go as far as including real government phone numbers in their messages. 'So the target looks up the phone number, says, 'Well, you know what? That's the official phone number for the CRA. It must be a legitimate message, right?'' Horcastle said. 'It's just another way, another tactic the fraudsters are using to convince you that it's an official message.' As for Compton, those fake speeding ticket texts weren't the only scam attempts she's seen this year. She also received calls from fraudsters posing as employees from RBC and Telus with what appeared to be legitimate numbers on her call display. 'It's quite easy to be taken,' she said.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Family still has 'no answers' after death of Calgary teen, mother says
As police continue to investigate the death of 16-year-old Calgary resident Jordyn Dines, her mother says the circumstances around her death remain a mystery to her. "I guess the hope is just to have answers. Right now, we don't really know anything," Jody Graves, Dines's mother, told CBC News in an interview Saturday. Dines was found dead in an abandoned car near Glenwood, a village approximately 215 kilometres south of Calgary, on July 4. RCMP said Dines was last seen alive at Chinook Centre in Calgary the afternoon of July 3, before being found dead the following day. "We have a lot of questions and no answers," Graves said. "We don't know what made her run away, we don't know who she was with, we don't know who drove her out there. We don't know what happened … as a mother, your mind just goes wild with thoughts." The Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit is investigating the death, which police said they've deemed to be suspicious. Cpl. Mathew Howell, an RCMP public information officer, told CBC News there were no further developments to share about the case, as of Saturday. He said the Major Crimes Unit handles distributing information on a case-by-case basis, but that generally any new information would be shared with the family prior to being made available publicly. If the family hasn't received any new information, Howell said, it's likely because there haven't been any significant developments to be shared by investigators. Dines's death 'hard to comprehend' Graves said her daughter's death remains a mystery to her as she waits for any new information on what happened to be shared with her by investigators. "It's hard to really kind of comprehend that she's gone, because you just really don't have any answers," she said. "She wasn't a bad person. She wouldn't have done anything to anybody to cause them harm." Dines, an avid skateboarder and artist, wanted to go to school to become a youth worker, her mother said. "She's a good kid," she said. "She's kind and thoughtful and compassionate and loving and funny and smart." While she hopes to soon find out more about what happened to her daughter, Graves said she understands that because the investigation is ongoing, police might need to keep certain information to themselves before it can be shared with Dines's family. The RCMP has asked for assistance from the public in determining what Dines was doing between being seen at Chinook Centre on July 3, and being found dead near Glenwood the following day.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
10 ways ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding has evaded arrest for 10 years
Once a Team Canada Olympic snowboarder, Ryan James Wedding has spent more than 10 years on the run from authorities, while allegedly leading a murderous, transnational drug-smuggling empire. Listed as one of the FBI's ten most-wanted fugitives since March, the U.S. State Department is offering a $10-million US reward for information leading to his arrest. So, how has Wedding, 43, evaded capture for so long? CBC News has spoken with current and former investigators and reviewed court files and public statements by authorities. What emerges is a multi-faceted strategy involving technology, money and high-level connections that appears to have allowed Wedding to consistently remain one step ahead of U.S. and Canadian authorities. Who is Ryan Wedding? Born into a skiing family in Thunder Bay, Ont., Wedding later moved to Coquitlam, B.C., and appeared destined for a promising career in snowboarding, reaching the 2002 Olympic Games in Utah. But he soon embarked on a much different career path. Arrested in a sting operation after he flew to California to buy cocaine in June 2008, Wedding spent more than three years in U.S. prisons. Sometime after his release, he moved to Montreal, where he was charged by the RCMP in April 2015 as part of a large-scale operation targeting cocaine imports to Canada. On the run since then, authorities say he relocated to Mexico and now sends mass shipments of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine across North America. 1. Cartel connections Wedding's biggest asset may be his connections to Mexico's merciless drug cartels, which the U.S. and Canada consider terrorist organizations. According to the FBI, Wedding may be living under the protection of the notorious Sinaloa cartel, once led by drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. "Wedding, who is wealthy, is dangerous and has connections in very high places," said Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office. The Sinaloa cartel dominates large swaths of northern and southern Mexico, and has a presence in almost every other part of the country, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). However, the group has been beset by deadly infighting over the past year, with the cartel split into two main, warring factions: Los Chapitos and La Mayiza. The RCMP declined to say whether Wedding is aligned with either branch. "We have a pretty strong sense of his linkages within transnational organized crime," said the RCMP's director general of international special services, Liam Price. "I wouldn't want to talk publicly about it, lest it show what we know, and how we know it." Wedding may also benefit from ties with the Sinaloa cartel's main competitor, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known by its Spanish initials, CJNG. Fellow Canadian Andrew Clark — described by U.S. prosecutors as Wedding's second-in-command — was arrested last year in Mexico's Jalisco state. Mexican authorities said Clark acted as a liaison, working with both CJNG and the Sinaloa cartel. 2. Getting tipped off Mexican cartels have been known to use cash and the threat of violence to control government officials. El Chapo's personal aide even claimed the ex-kingpin once bribed Mexico's then-president Enrique Peña Nieto to call off a manhunt. Wedding may be using the same playbook. "Any time that we've gotten close, he can rely on those people watching out for him, to alert him in advance," F. Cartwright Weiland, a senior U.S. State Department official told CBC News. Weiland, who leads the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, recently called on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to personally intervene and ensure Wedding's arrest. It's unclear whether authorities have learned of Wedding's exact whereabouts since he was spotted by the FBI in Mexico City in 2024. "We're getting closer," Weiland said. "But I think the story thus far has been one in which those two facets of society — the cartels and government officials — are working in tandem, to allow for him to evade capture." 3. Global allies Prosecutors have also acknowledged he could be almost anywhere beyond Mexico. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, investigators "have not ruled out his presence in the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, or elsewhere." What's more, the Mounties have said Wedding's network shipped drugs not only across North America, but "overseas" as well, raising the prospect he may have allies even farther afield. Indeed, court filings by U.S. prosecutors suggest one of Wedding's co-defendants, fellow Canadian Gurpreet Singh, has connections in Dubai, including to members of the Kinahan gang. A notorious drug cartel founded by Irishman Christy Kinahan in the 1990s, U.S. prosecutors describe it as "a well-known, violent organized crime group operating throughout the world." 4. Fear and violence Witnesses would be forgiven for thinking twice before speaking to authorities. Prosecutors have described Wedding's network as hellbent on eliminating enemies would-be informants — even targeting the families of perceived rivals. Indeed, the Toronto Star reported that U.S. prosecutors' key witness — a Canadian-Colombian longtime Wedding associate — was gunned down in broad daylight in Medellín, Colombia, on Jan. 31. Likewise, an indictment unsealed last year in California outlines how Wedding allegedly ordered co-defendant Nahim Jorge Bonilla to repay a cocaine debt, or else his mother would be killed. Investigators have publicly linked the network to four murders in Ontario, including the mistaken-identity shootings of a couple visiting from India. Authorities have also suggested the group ordered multiple other killings. "All of these victims were intentionally shot execution-style, so that their loved ones could see them murdered," former U.S. attorney Martin Estrada said. According to court documents, Wedding's top lieutenant, Clark, provided a Toronto-based hitman last year with a motley list of targets, including a Niagara Falls, Ont., drug trafficker, "a realtor in Van," "some Arabs" and "'a Mexi' who owned a restaurant and his wife." What's more, prosecutors warned Wedding likely still has access to a "network of hitmen" while on the run. 5. Insulated by accomplices A federal grand jury indictment unsealed in Los Angeles last year describes the inner workings of a sprawling criminal operation involving Wedding, Clark and 14 other co-defendants, including drug smugglers and the alleged contract killer known as "Mr. Perfect." Estrada said the network would source their product from "cocaine kitchens" in Colombia, then move the drugs to Southern California stash houses, via Mexico. Big rig drivers would then deliver the cocaine — an estimated 60 tonnes a year — to U.S. and Canadian cities. Wedding "tried to insulate himself from a lot of this criminal activity," Estrada said at a news conference last year. "It took a great deal of investigative effort to actually trace all of these acts to him personally." If Wedding is ever arrested, he faces eight felony charges in California, including murder, leading a continuing criminal enterprise and conspiracy to export cocaine. WATCH | FBI discusses search for Wedding: Alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding believed to be in Mexico, FBI says 4 months ago Duration 0:35 Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said Thursday that law enforcement officials believe the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder is in Mexico, possibly under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel, though he noted investigators have not ruled out that Wedding may be elsewhere. 6. Money laundering and cryptocurrency Wedding's network, said to have made $1 billion US a year, allegedly hides its money by using multiple cryptocurrency wallets, making it harder to follow. While the U.S. Attorney's Office said last fall that investigators had seized cocaine with a street value of roughly $25 million US, plus $255,400 US in cash, those amounts may only be a tiny fraction of the profits Wedding and his associates were pocketing. "Just on one day, we were able to see one of those crypto wallets and it contained $3 million [US]," Estrada said. "And that's just one of the wallets." He says investigators established that the Wedding organization laundered $250 million US through cryptocurrency between April and September 2024 alone. Of that amount, authorities only managed to seize about $3.2 million. Prior to his first arrest in 2008, Wedding had used the "cultural" money-laundering network of an Iranian-Canadian co-defendant to move $100,000 for a cocaine purchase, according to evidence at trial. "Obviously," Wedding said of the drug money on an FBI recording, "I didn't put it in my f-cking suitcase." 7. Aliases The U.S. indictment unsealed last October lists no fewer than 18 aliases for the six-foot, three-inch Wedding, including Giant, Grande, Buddy, El Jefe ("The Boss"), El Toro ("The Bull"), James Conrad King and Jesse King. Authorities have not said how they became aware of some of the aliases. But court records suggest Wedding and his associates all used aliases while communicating on the encrypted messaging app Threema. According to the indictment, Clark's listed aliases include "The Dictator" and "El Niño Problemático" ("The Problem Child.") Wedding also went by "Public Enemy" or simply "PE." "'Public Enemy' suggests that… he loves the fact that he's been able to get away with his crimes,"' Weiland, of the U.S. State Department, said. 8. Encryption Encrypted messaging has for years been a hallmark of Wedding's alleged criminal operations. A decade ago, RCMP found Wedding's co-accused — in the case targeting cocaine imports to Canada — were strictly communicating face to face, or via encrypted BlackBerry chats. They used an off-shore server beyond the reach of police, according to court documents. Wedding and his associates are now said to prefer Threema. The Switzerland-based app boasts its "users can communicate freely without worrying about their privacy or security." So the FBI instead struck a deal with a longtime drug trafficker — who'd previously worked with Wedding — to help infiltrate their Threema communications. Prosecutors underlined in a court filing earlier this year how such apps remain a simple and crucial tool to the network. "Wedding needs no more than access to encrypted communications to continue to accomplish these ends," assistant U.S. attorneys Maria Jhai and Lyndsi Allsop wrote. WATCH | From Olympian to fugitive: Ryan Wedding's path from Olympian to most-wanted fugitive 4 months ago Duration 6:03 Ryan Wedding once represented Canada as an Olympic snowboarder; now he's accused of being a drug kingpin and is on the FBI's most wanted list — with a $10 million US reward being offered for information leading to his arrest. CBC's Thomas Daigle traces his shocking path from the top of the slopes to the underworld. 9. 'Greed-driven' confidence When FBI Supervisory Special Agent Brett Kalina arrested Wedding outside a Hampton Inn in San Diego in 2008, he said the Canadian didn't act kind and innocent as suspects usually do. "Wedding was the opposite," Kalina recounted in an interview, and showed overwhelming confidence in himself. "More than any person that I've ever dealt with after arresting, he wanted to assert his dominance over everybody around him." Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of the DEA's L.A. division, described the Wedding as "unremitting, callous and greed-driven." Kalina said Wedding made deep underworld connections while behind bars in the U.S. But when it came time for him to address the judge in May 2010 after his drug conviction, a trial transcript shows Wedding pleaded for a lenient sentence and a "second chance." "Your Honour," Wedding said, "what I did was completely out of character for me, and it is a personal mission of mine to rebuild my reputation." The judge handed him a four-year sentence — a shorter term than he had previously considered. Even the prosecutor assured him, "Mr. Wedding's not a kingpin... he is a person who was trying to break into the drug trade, and it didn't work out." 10. Changing his looks Since the FBI announced last fall it was hunting Wedding, the agency released three pictures of the fugitive in which he sports very different looks. The first, taken from a 2013 Canadian driver's licence, shows him with a slimmer build and long, curly hair — seemingly balding on top. In the two more recent pictures — both taken somewhere, sometime in 2024 — the long hair has been cut short, while Wedding appears bulkier. "It's possible for Wedding's weight to have fluctuated or him to have altered his appearance a little bit, which is normal in fugitive investigations," said Davis, of the FBI's L.A. office "Our chances of catching him with the public support remain very high."
