As the search for a suspect continues in a vicious attack on an 89-year-old man in downtown Courtenay, RCMP now say it was an isolated incident.
“We’re all in agreement it was a heinous act, it was a one-off, to put everybody’s mind at ease,” Comox Valley RCMP Insp. Mike Kurvers told Courtenay council this week.
Bob Plumb suffered serious facial injuries while delivering newspapers for his stepdaughter near the corner of 5th Street and Fitzgerald.
He says he was approached by a man as he was getting back into his car around 4:15 a.m. on July 31.
“Before I got the door closed I felt a bang on the top of my head,” Plumb said in an interview with CHEK News in early August.
“He started slashing me with a machete at my head and he kept slashing at me seven or eight times.”
Plumb says he grabbed the 30-centimetre long blade to stop the attack, injuring his hand.
The suspect managed to free the machete, then fled on a bicycle.
Plumb drove himself to the police station, and was then taken to hospital. He was released in early August.
Insp. Kurvers told council that the full detachment had been working on the case.
He says that officers had canvassed closed to 200 businesses for video surveillance, but much of it was of poor quality or facing the wrong direction.
The suspect description, a man on a bike in a black hooded sweatshirt, is also proving a challenge.
“Everybody has a bike and a black hoodie, in my world,” said Kurvers.
Investigators also found no forensic evidence in Plumb’s vehicle.
“We’re taking baby steps, but we are making progress,” said Kurvers.
A Gofundme page set up for Plumb has raised more than $30,000.
In an update provided last week, the family thanked everyone for their generous donations, saying the money will go to such things as private home care, safety equipment, art supplies, and anything else he needs to make his recovery easier.
“He has had some bumps in his recovery but remains in good spirits & surrounded by loved ones.”
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call the Comox Valley RCMP at 250-338-1321
CHEK News
