RCMP investigate suspicious Grand Lake house fire that killed senior
Incident comes days after alleged double homicide nearby
Grand Lake is facing another deadly and suspicious fire.
RCMP say they responded to a report of a house fire at a residence on Route 10 in Coal Creek around 6 a.m. Saturday.
On arrival, police found a dead 83-year-old man from Coal Creek, police said in a statement to CBC News. A 53-year-old man, also from Coal Creek, was found alive and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Police did not release the identities of either men, but called the death suspicious.
"Further questions surrounding what led to the death are part of the ongoing investigation," the statement said. RCMP asked anyone with information to come forward.
"People are not used to this kind of activity in our area. So they are on edge," said Grand Lake Mayor Kevin Nicklin.
The fatal fire in Coal Creek comes less than a week after two bodies were found in a burned-out car on Midland Road in Chipman, about 10 kilometres away. Police are calling that incident a double homicide as the investigation continues.
Nicklin said RCMP told him Monday that they don't believe the two incidents are connected.
Both incidents happened at a time when people in Grand Lake, a municipality that includes Minto and Chipman, are concerned with RCMP services.
In September, police apologized for the handling of a shooting in Gaspereau Forks. It took police 50 minutes to respond to the shooting that left a 75-year-old man seriously injured. RCMP then did not tell the public anything about the shooting for three days while they searched for a suspect.
Since that controversy, Nicklin said, he has noticed an increased RCMP presence in the community. But he also urged local people to be more vigilant.
"If they know anything, see anything, please report it."
Coal Creek, a rural area south of Chipman, is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone and crime is uncommon, Nicklin said.
"So if you called Chipman urban, this would be very rural," he said.
Nicklin said many in the Grand Lake community believe that local crime has been largely drug-related, and he wants to see more consequences for those involved with drug dealing.
"If we could crack down on that, I believe you'll see the crime go away," he said.
Drug issues only show the need for the new jail currently being built in Minto, Nicklin added.
"If there's a heavier crime, if they can put these people away for a while, rehabilitate them while they're there. … The long and short of it is sticking them back out on the streets to do these crimes is not a good thing."
Nicklin said he's been speaking with local RCMP officials and urged them to be as transparent as possible with the public on the Coal Creek and Midland Road cases.
"And I said that silence usually breeds people's imaginations."
As both investigations continue, Nicklin said he doesn't want residents to let their minds run rampant.
"The biggest need for us is to realize that these are isolated cases and that our community is safe."
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