Over the weekend, RCMP in Innisfail and Sundre had to respond to a total of 11 calls after reports of loud parties, fireworks and damaged property came from area residents. 

In Red Deer County, the community surrounding the Garrington Bridge area, west of Bowden, massive crowds had taken over the area to party through the weekend, much to the dismay of local residents.

Officers responded to 11 calls for service in a 12-hour period from Saturday night into Sunday morning. 

Residents called to advise of driving complaints, damaged property and even uttering threats. 

As officers responded, one Sundre RCMP vehicle even had the windows smashed in by an unknown person. 

Officers say they estimate a crowd of up to 500 people may have taken over the area, and had to return on Sunday to respond to the massive mess left behind by attendees. 

Sgt. Lori Eiler of Innisfail RCMP said, "This is concerning behavior which has become very unfortunate for people who reside in this area, their ability to enjoy their homes and their property has obviously been impacted.  Further to this, RCMP are concerned with the criminal behavior as well as the health concerns which are obvious."


From Innisfail RCMP:

 Innisfail and Sundre RCMP detachments were kept busy on the weekend responding to multiple complaints in the Garrington Bridge area in Red Deer County.  This area is a rural location that is West of Bowden Alberta on highway 587 near range road 43.  

In total on July 25th 2020 RCMP responded to 11 calls for service between the hours of 7 pm – 7 am the following day.

The calls for service ranged from damaged property, driving complaints, liquor offences, stolen property, uttering threats, and one report of possession of a weapon dangerous to public peace.  While RCMP were responding to complaints and attempting to keep the peace, a Sundre RCMP vehicle had its window smashed out by an unknown individual. Fish and Wildlife attended as well to investigate a deer that was found deceased near the location of the party.

Residents in the area expressed frustration to RCMP as they were kept awake by the noise of people partying and setting off fireworks all night long.  One resident reports that the following day there were still 40 vehicles in the area.

RCMP members returned to the scene the following day to survey the damages and found human feces, toilet paper, garbage, empty alcohol containers, stolen traffic signs, and covid social distancing signs littering the ground that had obviously been stolen from Innisfail.  RCMP approximated crowds in the area to be approx. 500 people. 

There was a fair amount of enforcement primarily in the form of Provincial tickets and both detachments worked together and conducted numerous checkstops in an attempt to ensure there were no impaired drivers leaving the area.  Law enforcement efforts will be ongoing in an attempt to maintain safety in the area and hopefully provide some peace to the people who reside there.

RCMP response will continue to be prevalent and resources will be dedicated to prevention and public education primarily, however we will not hesitate to lay charges if the situation warrants it.