Visiting from Ontario in their camper van, Lynn Nicholls and her husband stopped to see family in Kelowna this week, when something unusual and slightly disturbing happened.
The van was parked in a family member's driveway on Hall Road in southeast Kelowna while everyone enjoyed dinner together outside around 7:30 p.m. on July 15.
From the table, Nicholls alerted the others as she watched a man enter her camper.
"We have a code, so we opened the door and he stood there and he said 'Close the door'."
Nicholls said the man was swearing at them and repeating, "I will do anything I can to get arrested".
The man was caught on video standing in the doorway of the camper and refusing to exit. RCMP were called to assist with the situation.
Her brother being a school teacher and herself as a medium, Nicholls said the family was all on the same page of keeping the suspect calm while waiting for police to arrive.
"We didn't want to get him further riled up. My block of knives was directly behind him, so we wanted to keep him facing forward so he didn't see that."
Nicholls said while her brother was maintaining a calm conversation with the man two neighbours arrived at their house. At first, she though maybe it was a friend of the suspect, but after a brief conversation learned the suspect had been disturbing other properties before making his way to her camper.
"When he showed up he was nonchalantly standing in my door, eating a bag of chips and drinking a Gatorade. He had stolen that from one of the houses he was at," Nicholls said.
Kelowna RCMP officers responded to the incident and were able to take the suspect into custody without issue.
The individual was arrested for mischief and theft. He has since been released.
"I'm hopeful but doubtful he'll get the help he needs," Nicholls said, commenting that the suspect seemed grateful police took him away in handcuffs.
This experience, however, isn't souring Nicholls' opinions of Kelowna. She and her husband are still considering the Okanagan as part of their future retirement plans.
"The people here have been great, the activities are great, the weather is a little hot, but it won't a stain on my view of Kelowna," Nicholls said. "This seems to be the way the world is going and we do our best to do our best."
