Unresolved Homicide Case Reaches One-Year Mark

Police are appealing for public assistance as the investigation into the death of 25-year-old Dillen Bain reaches its one-year mark. The Kamloops resident and 2018 Vernon Secondary School graduate was found dead inside a burned car along Tranquille-Criss Creek Road on the outskirts of Kamloops on Aug. 23, 2025.

Investigators Retrace Vehicle Movements

Emergency responders were first called to the service road at roughly 4 a.m. that Saturday regarding a vehicle fire involving a black 2019 Volkswagen Golf, which authorities believe was deliberately set ablaze. Prior to the fire, the vehicle had been seen traveling alongside a blue car in the North Shore area of Kamloops. According to Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News, Kelowna Capital News, Vernon Morning Star, and Penticton Western News, Bain’s body was discovered inside the vehicle that morning.

Police Issue Fresh Call for Information

The BC RCMP Southeast District Major Crime Unit continues to work on establishing the events that preceded the homicide. “The BC RCMP Southeast District Major Crime Unit (MCU) are continuing to actively investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding a homicide and vehicle fire that occurred on August 23, 2025, and are seeking witnesses or anyone with information to help advance the investigation,” said Cpl. Brett Urano, Division media relations officer for BC RCMP Communication Services.

Detectives are particularly interested in speaking with individuals who interacted with or saw Bain before the incident. Anyone with information who has not yet spoken to investigators is urged to call the Southeast District Major Crime Unit Information Line at 1-877-987-8477.

Wildfire Emergency Response

During a deployment for proactive enforcement alongside Penticton RCMP for the Peach Festival between Aug. 5 and Aug. 9, members of B.C.’s anti-gang unit assisted with emergency efforts as the Bald Range wildfire threatened Summerland and nearby areas. On Aug. 7, officers with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit redirected their efforts to conduct tactical evacuations, which included safely evacuating elderly residents from an independent living facility.

Enforcement and Seizures

While supporting the local detachment and working alongside the Penticton RCMP crime reduction unit, the anti-gang officers executed enforcement actions that led to significant seizures. Authorities confiscated four firearms along with 16 other weapons, including a baton, a conducted energy weapon, knives, a compound bow, and a crossbow. Police also seized approximately 2.5 kilograms of illicit substances—comprising fentanyl, cocaine, and crystal methamphetamine—as well as one vehicle and around $100,000 in Canadian currency.

MLAs announce split on legislature steps

Delta South MLA Ian Paton and Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar are teaming up to establish a new political party in the coming weeks. Announcing the decision Monday morning on the steps of the B.C. legislature, Paton confirmed he is leaving the Conservative Party of B.C. caucus to sit as an Independent. According to reporting from the Vernon Morning Star and Penticton Western News, Milobar will serve as the interim leader of the new organization.

Dissatisfaction with party leadership

The departure follows internal tension after Kerry-Lynne Findlay won the B.C. Conservative leadership race in May. Because Findlay remains without a seat in the legislature, she requested that at least three sitting MLAs step aside so she could run in a byelection, a request Paton declined. Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper announced Saturday that she would step down for Findlay, though a byelection date has not been set. Paton revealed that Findlay offered him an advisory role on agriculture if he relinquished his riding, and that he subsequently resigned from his appointed position as Lower Mainland lieutenant.

Paton cited severe dissatisfaction with party management under Findlay, noting that communications staff attempted to prevent reporters from contacting him directly regarding his agriculture critic portfolio. Comparing the situation to professional hockey players adapting to an unworkable management change, he remarked, “Maybe the new coach isn’t quite working out for us.”

Aiming to offer a fresh alternative

Milobar, who recently resigned from the Conservative caucus, indicated that additional party defections may follow. Both politicians expressed a desire to represent citizens who feel left behind by current options, arguing that ten years of B.C. NDP governance has left the province in “disarray” and that they cannot let the opportunity for change “slip on by.” Their goal is to build a distinct political home for those who currently feel “politically homeless.”