As 2019 comes to a close today, the MyTriportNow.com newsroom is taking a look back at our most engaging stories of the year.
Our most-read story of 2019 happened just last month and involved all schools in Port McNeill going into lockdown.
On November 25th the RCMP responded to a crash on Highway 19 near the 350km marker involving two people in a vehicle that had rear-ended a pickup truck.
While investigating police saw one of the people inside, a man, throw something into the ditch.
The police say they then found a gun in that same ditch, while the two people were being taken to hospital for treatment.
While the man was being arrested on the firearms charge, he fled on foot into a forested area across from a local school, leading to a chase and the lockdowns.
The man was Justin Chester, a 31-year-old from Courtenay. He was eventually arrested with the help of a police dog from Campbell River near Cardena Crescent in Port McNeill.
Police laid multiple charges against Chester.
