[Murders] Coombs gravel pit | November 1, 2020

not much info circulating locally yet. In the forest there’s bunch of very established squatters in campers and tents. Sort of a trashy druggy hillbilly zone back there. Probably a domestic dispute gone bad is my guess.

It’s a weird vibe... I drove through once and it almost looks like people own the lots, but they are squatters.

It’s hunting season too, so maybe the guns were out and just a perfect storm of squatters with guns drinking and drugs gone bad

In the police interview on Global the spokesman said that they had attended to the sight in the past for curfew violations.

So one or more of the folks were on parole/probation.

In the police interview on Global the spokesman said that they had attended to the sight in the past for curfew violations.

So one or more of the folks were on parole/probation.

Foreman told reporters at a press conference that Oceanside RCMP knew the people living in the trailer and were in the area often for curfew checks.

https://www.timescol...ombs-1.24231729

She said some people have been living in the heavily forested area in recreational vehicles. The district does not move people along since they have nowhere else to go, Salter said.

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The two trailers have been in the area for several months, he said. Graham said he reported the squatters a couple of months ago and had seen a group living there since then. Graham said didn’t have an interaction with them since they were not on the Crown land he monitors.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 November 2020 - 09:32 PM.

Do we know if this was on crown land or privately owned forestry company land?

sounds like there is a bit of a mix up there.  the squatters were not on the crown land that the motocross club takes care of.

Morris said she doesn’t know much about what happened and why. “Nobody deserves to be shot, no one deserves to die, and there was a lot of people involved in this that shouldn’t of had to die.”

Morris said the people she visits in the 16 separate camps she frequents have nowhere else to go. She said there are more than 380 people in the camps in the Parksville-Qualicum area.

“We do head counts in the bush. If someone’s missing, I will phone the dealers, I will get the information,” she said. “I try to find out how I can help — what help looks like for these people, if they want residential treatment or detox.”

Morris said it’s difficult to get help for them.

“It’s sad but this doesn’t need to be this way. I’ve gotten 183 people into residential treatment already by bringing them in my home.”

https://www.timescol...ound-1.24233419

sounds like we have 380 people in the woods in 16 camps just doing drugs all day.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 November 2020 - 02:08 AM.

One victim was a guy with quite a criminal past and facing trial for drug trafficking.

He looked like a mean guy on the teevee news I saw, not someone I would piss off. These events are usually about money or sex.

My guess is someone owed someone a fair amount of money or someone was boffing someone else's partner.

Who was this "phone call from a certain party" warning her not to go?

Was it one of the drug dealer contacts she inquires from when someone goes missing?

Did she contact the police after receiving this call? If it's not safe for an outreach worker how is it safe for campers? (or the dirt biking public who discovered the situation)

 

Morris said she doesn’t know much about what happened and why. “Nobody deserves to be shot, no one deserves to die, and there was a lot of people involved in this that shouldn’t of had to die.”

 

Morris said the people she visits in the 16 separate camps she frequents have nowhere else to go. She said there are more than 380 people in the camps in the Parksville-Qualicum area.

 

“We do head counts in the bush. If someone’s missing, I will phone the dealers, I will get the information,” she said. “I try to find out how I can help — what help looks like for these people, if they want residential treatment or detox.”

 

Morris said it’s difficult to get help for them.

 

“It’s sad but this doesn’t need to be this way. I’ve gotten 183 people into residential treatment already by bringing them in my home.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...ound-1.24233419

 

 

 

sounds like we have 380 people in the woods in 16 camps just doing drugs all day.

 

do we have three victim names yet?  one?

Shawn McGrath was one of those killed. The Parksville man had been living in an RV in the gravel pit with his longtime girlfriend Shanda Wilson since the summer. According to several sources, his body was found with a second body in one of two torched RVs at the scene and outreach workers say Shanda Wilson is now missing and feared to be one of the three people killed.

https://www.cheknews...y-creek-716076/

Several sources told the Times Colonist that one of the victims of the killings is believed to be Shawn McGrath, a 52-year-old with an extensive criminal record. His girlfriend, Shanda Wilson, had been living with him in the trailer.

Kelly Morris, a peer-support worker based in Qualicum Beach, said she helped McGrath set up his trailer in the gravel pit at the end of Melrose Forest Service Road about 18 months ago. He had just finished a jail sentence and told her he had nowhere else to go.

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Morris said other homeless people living in the bush were afraid of McGrath.

McGrath was set to appear in Nanaimo provincial court this month for possession for the purpose of trafficking and breach of recognizance. Wilson was listed as a co-accused in that case. In 2005, McGrath was charged with robbery, break and enter, unlawful confinement and use of an imitation firearm for offences committed in Courtenay.

https://www.timescol...ings-1.24234412

doesn't really sound like a great loss for the community.

Major crime officers believe two persons of interest flagged down a car and got a ride away from the gravel pit near Whiskey Creek where three bodies were found.

Police said a motorist driving a light-coloured sedan on Highway 19 may have picked the pair up early Sunday.

https://www.timescol...ings-1.24234734