The Trans-Canada Highway between Salmon Arm and Sicamous had to be shut down Monday afternoon after a passing motorist spotted what she thought was a firearm being pointed at her vehicle.
Police said the woman was travelling along a heavily-forested rural area near Bernie Road just after 2:30 p.m.when she saw a man on the side of the road with what appeared to be a rifle.
Police were called and RCMP officers from both the Sicamous and Salmon Arm detachments responded to the area.
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The section of highway was shut down in both directions to prevent the public from accessing the area as officers began the search for the man.
The RCMP Southeast District Emergency Response Team happened to be training in the Shuswap area and also responded to the scene to assist in the search.
Police managed to track down a man matching the suspect’s description within the containment area fairly quickly.
The man, who police determined had been hitchhiking, was not in possession of any firearms upon his arrest,” Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey, spokesperson for the RCMP Southeast District, said. “However, further investigation revealed that he had been holding up a metal pipe, which officers believe could have been easily mistaken by a passing motorist as resembling the barrel of a firearm.
The highway reopened about 40 minutes later.
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