Three suspicious deaths in early August have created public unease in Port Alberni, a city of over 18,000 located within the traditional territories of the Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations on Vancouver Island.
On Aug. 1, Port Alberni RCMP responded to a report of a suspicious fire in the 2000 block of 16th Avenue. Firefighters were on scene putting out the fire and performing life saving measures on an adult male resident, police said, and an adult female was located suffering from fire and smoke related injuries.
Both victims were transported to hospitals outside of the community, police said. The male later died from his injuries, and the female remains in hospital in stable but serious condition, according to an Aug. 6 statement from the Port Alberni RCMP.
Then on Aug. 6, local police found human remains inside a burned vehicle in the 3700 block of 4th Avenue. Investigators are seeking anyone with information or dashcam footage in the area between the times of 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. that same day to come forward.
On the following weekend Port Alberni RCMP received a report of an assault near the intersection of Johnston Road and Victoria Quay on Aug. 10. That call came in at 12:42 a.m., which led police to locate a man suffering from serious injuries. He was transported to hospital but succumbed to his injuries despite life-saving effort, police said.
“Port Alberni RCMP General Investigation Section has assumed conduct of this ongoing investigation and is working to determine the circumstances that led to the man’s death. Based on the initial information this death is being treated as suspicious,” states the RCMP in an Aug. 12 release. “Anyone with any information, CCTV or dash cam video, is urged to contact the Port Alberni RCMP at 250-723-2424.”
Port Alberni RCMP Insp. Kim Bruce provided a second quarter report to mayor and council on Aug. 11, going over crime statistics from April, May and June 2025.
From Q1 and Q2, Bruce said the calls for service volume increased by 20 per cent and a two per cent higher call volume from the same time last year, or 67 more calls for service than in 2024.
“We’re currently at 6,508 calls for service and as I state, presume no change, we’ll be higher than last year,” said Insp. Bruce.
They later introduced Stats Canada Crime Severity Data for 2024 that showed a notable 20 per cent decrease for Port Alberni and neighbouring communities.
“This is a bit of an area of inquiry for me and I'm continuing to work on it,” said Insp. Bruce. “I've tried to reach Stats Can a couple of times because I'd like to know where we're seeing the improvement or benefit to what's happening in our community, or if it's just simply complaint fatigue and we're not getting the people reporting the crimes in the same way that they used to,”
“I really don’t know why we’re seeing that decrease because I can attest to as I stand here that there is no discernable change in Port Alberni’s severity of crime. In fact, I’m concerned for just how violent it is here,” Bruce continued.
According to Stats Can, the 2023 average provincial crime rate was 65 reported incidents per 1,000 population. The average crime rate for B.C.’s municipal RCMP policing jurisdictions over 15,000 population was 85 reported crimes per 1,000 population. Port Alberni’s crime rate was 179.
Speaking solely of a homicide that occurred in June at Dry Creek Park in Port Alberni, Insp. Bruce said the investigation is “arduous, challenging, very time consuming” and would be prioritized against other tasks.
On Aug. 7, Port Alberni RCMP members arrested William Shane Watts for the alleged homicide that occurred in Dry Creek Park on June 16. The following day, BC Prosecution Service approved a charge of murder for Watts, said police. Watts remains in custody.
During the Aug. 11 regular council meeting, Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minions voiced her appreciation for the detailed crime report and the hard work of the local police.
“We know that there's some real challenges everywhere. I think the community is growing more concerned as we start to hear some of the specific cases that are happening. So, appreciate the hard work and difficult conditions that you're working under right now,” said Minions.
