PRINCE GEORGE
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ONDAY, JANUARY 8, 2001
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PAGE 11
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World ....... ..........13
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‘Where can I send my child that’s safe?’
Residents still fearful, despite arrest of suspect for abducting two kids and sexually assaulting one of them
by KAREN KWAN Citizen Staff
Area residents remain uneasy, despite Friday night’s arrest of a man suspected of abducting two little girls and sexually assaulting one of them last week.
Benjamin Corey Hart, 20, was formally charged Saturday with two counts of abduction and one of sexual assault following a manhunt that led to his arrest Friday evening at a truck stop restaurant.
He was remanded in custody and is expected to make a court appearance today. Hart has no prior criminal record, according to RCMP.
The girls — neighbors aged five and seven — were tobogganing outside their Blackbum-area homes Thursday afternoon when a man drove up and started talking to them, RCMP said.
When the girls got close enough, police said he grabbed them and drove them to a gravel pit about 10 kilometres away, on Grovebum Road, where he sexually assaulted one of the children before returning them home. Police initially said both girls were sexually assaulted.
While neighborhood parents said the arrest eased tensions somewhat, they’re still being extremely cautious about their children's safety and watchful of strangers in the area.
“As long as you have kids you’re never really at ease,” said Giscome Road resident Nora McLeod.
“He’s just one. There’s another coming behind him,” said the mother of six
children who range in age from 10 to 24 years.
Despite the widespread perception that rural areas are safe, McLeod said there have been attempts against young children in the area before, including an incident last year where a stranger was caught lurking around the elementary school grounds.
“It’s a horrible world... You hear about babysitters, hockey coaches — where can I send my child that’s safe?”
Brenda Gouin, who lives on Blackburn Road, said she was relieved to hear the suspect has been taken off the streets. “But I’d still be scared to let my kids go out because it was close to home,” said the mother of teenage children.
“That’s good to know,” said Giscome Road resident Tim Kalsbeek, who has three young children. But he added that his children are too young to go outside alone.
Police officers who were going door-to-door searching for clues noticed Hart in the Prince George restaurant and arrested him without incident, said Const. Mike Herchuk.
The vehicle believed to have been used in the abduction was also seized.
Despite the trauma of the attack, the girls gave police a detailed description of a tall, thin pony-tailed suspect and the car he was driving — a small, grey vehicle with red seats and a CD container.
Police continue their investigation.
Citizen photo by Brent Braaten
MOMENT IN BRONZE — Prince George Cougars’ defenceman Dan Hamhuis arrived at the Prince George Airport with little fanfare on Sunday morning after a long return flight from the World Junior Hockey Championships in Moscow, Russia. Hamhuis and his Team Canada teammates captured a bronze medal at the tournament. Hamhuis headed to Smithers for time off with his family and to recover from jet lag.
Friends of suspect stunned by arrest
Another snowmobiler victim of deadly slide
by KAREN KWAN Citizen Staff
The body of a snowmobiler killed Saturday in an ! avalanche that swept down the north face of Torpy Mountain, 80 kilometres northeast of Prince George, was recovered with the aid of a helicopter Sunday afternoon.
Three other snowmobilers, all from the Prince George area, managed to escape the deadly tide of snow that tumbled down at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday and call for help, police said.
The 32-year-old Prince George man — whose name is being withheld until relatives have been notified — is the ; third to die in two avalanches that hit Northern B.C. in just over a week. Two Alberta men were killed in a slide near ; Mackenzie on Dec. 29.
• Prince George RCMP and the coroner’s office are conduct-;ing an investigation into the latest death.
The slide involved a section of snow pack 200 metres in length and one-and-a-half metres deep, said Jeff Smedley, •search manager with Prince George Search and Rescue, ; whose members were involved in recovering the body Sun-•day. “A huge chunk came down.”
He said the slide area was 30 kilometres from the parking lot on the mountain popular with snowmobilers.
Avalanche experts say precarious conditions exist in most areas of the province. On Torpy, a base of loose, sugary snow that failed to bond with the snow pack above is being blamed for the slide, Smedley said.
Because of the extreme hazard, Search and Rescue volunteers have been placed on high alert, he said, meaning all members are prepared to go oh a moment’s notice. “We’re fully expecting more to happen,” he said.
Snowmobile dealer Bill Witt, who owns Howie’s Marine Service, said he rode with the deceased in the back country on a number of occasions, including the Torpy area.
The man was an extremely experienced snowmobiler, he said.
“He knew his stuff. He always took safety precautions, he was very careful that way,” Witt said. The victim had recently arranged with Witt to purchase a more powerful sled for next season, he said.
“He was a really really good person. It’s really sad to see something like that happen.”
See related story on page 3
by KAREN KWAN Citizen Staff
Friends of the man accused of abducting two young girls and sexually assaulting one of them Thursday said they are stunned by their friend’s arrest.
Benjamin Corey Hart, 20, was charged Saturday following his arrest Friday evening at a truck stop restaurant.
TVson Carlson, one of Hart’s best friends, was with Hart at the time of his arrest. He said he doesn’t believe his friend could harm anyone.
“He’s shy, timid until you get to know him and he’s a real nice person... I cannot see him doing something like that,” he said Sunday, still in shock.
Carlson said he was sitting with Hart at the Husky Thick/Car Stop 8c Restaurant off Highway 97 when RCMP officers approached their table around 4:15 p.m.
They ushered Hart to another table where they questioned him for half an hour to an hour, he said.
“I didn’t even know what it was about until they took me down to the police station for a statement and told me,” he said.
Hart appeared just as surprised, he said. “He was dumbfounded.”
He and Hart attended Blackburn Ju-
nior Secondary school together, Carlson said, although Hart was a year or two ahead of him.
Hart lived in the Blackburn area for a number of years but moved to the city with his mother and younger sister, he said.
Although his friend was traumatized as a young child by his stepfather’s death, he was not a troubled individual, he said.
As the two friends sat having coffee at the truck stop just before Hart was arrested, Carlson said Hart acted as he always did and didn’t appear to be nervous or agitated.
“People are so quick to judge because it’s such a horrible charge,” he said.
Another of Hart’s friends, a Blackburn Road resident who didn’t want to be identified, said he was astounded by the news.
“I never would have thought anything like this could happen... It blows my mind,” said the man who knew Hart since they were in Grade 3 and played on his baseball team.
He described Hart, whom he last saw on New Year’s Eve, as a quiet person who was nice to everybody. “He never had an evil temperament; he was always such a calm, relaxed guy, friendly.”
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