A man who had been banned from B.C. Ferries was spotted aboard a vessel Sunday in an obvious wig, a scarf and sunglasses but left before Quadra Island RCMP could nab him.
Police said the man was also speaking “in an odd high-pitched accent that was either Australian or British.”
“He was just trying to badly disguise himself,” said Const. Rebekah Draht.
B.C. Ferries contacted police when they realized who the man was.
The man refused to co-operate with officers and fled on foot, “leaving only his wig and mask on a trail,” police said. He is subject to a trespassing ticket and a fine of $115, Draht said.
“We’ll locate him and give him a ticket because we’re 100 per cent sure who it is,” she said.
A general comment on the situation was given by B.C. Ferries, though the corporation declined to provide specifics on what led to the man being banned.
“With regards to the person in question currently banned from travel, B.C. Ferries does not tolerate any abuse, including verbal abuse, towards its employees or other passengers,” it said. “B.C. Ferries takes this matter seriously, and a customer who abuses an employee or fellow passenger, including verbal abuse, may be denied service.”
In July 2005, a man holding two inflated garbage bags jumped from the Spirit of British Columbia in Active Pass and swam for shore. It turned out he was late for a baseball game so, rather disembark at Swartz Bay and board another ferry home to Mayne Island, he took a more direct route. He was banned indefinitely, and ended up being hauled off by police after showing up at a terminal that August.
Lifetime bans were handed to two men who, weeks later, spoke about blowing up the Queen of Alberni. No bomb was found. In 2009, there was an indefinite ban for a drunken man who jumped into Departure Bay from the car deck of the Queen of Oak Bay as its propellers were churning.
Short-term prohibitions have been handed out for inebriation, fighting or other bad behaviour. Anti-mask protesters were temporarily barred after causing a disturbance on a Nanaimo-Horseshoe Bay sailing in October 2020.
jbell@timescolonist.com
