A MAN wanted for a series of break and enters in Alaska and who then illegally entered Canada at Gingolx in the Nass Valley was arrested trying to re-enter the United States near Nelson in the Kootenays Jan. 24.
John Ollivier, an American citizen, was a passenger in a truck when he was arrested without incident by Canadian border agents at the Nelway land crossing near Nelson.
Officials say the search for Ollivier began Jan. 21 after a 16-foot jet skiff a boat he allegedly stole in Alaska beached at Gingolx in the Nass Valley.
Ollivier initially avoided RCMP officers in the Nass Valley, prompting a search for him in the Terrace area.
He was refused passage aboard a passenger plane leaving the Northwest Regional Airport in Terrace and began hitchhiking south, report officials.
The search for Ollivier, 46, involved Alaskan State troopers, US Customs agents, the RCMP and the Canadian Border Service Agency.
"Each agency was committed to getting the job done and ensuring Mr. Ollivier was intercepted and brought before the courts to answer allegations against him," said Sgt. Donovan Tait, the commanding officer of the Lisims RCMP detachment in the Nass Valley.
The break and enters of several cabins occurred in the Unuk River area of Alaska.
A photo array was used by RCMP officers in Kincolith to originally identify Ollivier as the person they wished to question.
Ollivier is now in custody in Washington State and Alaskan State troopers will take Ollivier back to Alaska.