A B.C. family is sharing a disturbing story about a violent encounter at a campsite in the Fraser Valley.
Charmaine Joseph says she was at a Chehalis Lake campsite with her two children and fiancé when someone started shooting a pellet gun in their direction.
“It was a shock,” she said first. “I can’t believe this has happened. Am I seeing this?”
Joseph’s fiancé BB Sodhi said the campers claimed they were shooting at cans, “but there was nothing in between” them and the campers.
Joseph said the situation escalated from there.
“This individual came out of nowhere, pulled a machete out and put it against my throat,” she said. “At that point, I just, like, put my hands up between it and I pushed it away.”
They say they quickly left the campsite and ran into two RCMP officers on the way out. Joseph said RCMP told them it would be dealt with the next day.
“They were not worried about the public,” she said. “They didn’t go down to speak to witnesses or gather any evidence. It was just, we’ll leave it for the morning.”
RCMP issued a press release more than a week later asking witnesses to come forward.
One suspect is described as a man in his late 30s to early 40s, six feet tall with a black beard and medium-length black hair.
A second suspect is described as a man who is bald with a black goatee. He is believed to be around 40 years old and weighs approximately 250 to 300 pounds.
RCMP said it was the second incident of violence and threats in an area campsite, and officers have stepped up patrols.
Joseph and Sodhi say the incident has deeply impacted their children.
“They are definitely traumatized. They will not go camping anymore,” Joseph said. “They have said that they refuse to go.