Update: Police release sketch of suspect

The Vernon North Okanagan RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect involved in an incident at a Vernon elementary school.

On Tuesday, May 9th, 2023, around 8 a.m., police received a report of a suspicious occurrence near an elementary school in the 4200-block of 35th Street in Vernon. A man in a brown vehicle attempted several times to convince a child who was walking to school, to get into his vehicle, even offering a gift. The child refused and did not get into the vehicle. The suspect fled the area when the child’s parent approached the vehicle. (See May 10th, 2023 release)

In support of our ongoing investigation, an RCMP forensic sketch artist has compiled a composite sketch of the suspect, states Constable Chris Terleski, Media Relations Officer for the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP. We are releasing the image to the public with the hope someone will either recognize this person or be able to provide us with information that will assist us in furthering our investigation.

The suspect is described as:

• Caucasian man;
• 40-50 yrs old;
• short facial hair
• wearing light brown clothing;
• driving a small, brown station wagon type vehicle.

Anyone who has any information about this incident or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP at (250) 545-7171 and quote file # 2023-7313.