By Canadian Press

Police say they have dozens of tips about missing B.C. sex offender Randall Hopley

Nov 8, 2023 | 7:26 PM

VANCOUVER — Police in Vancouver say they’ve received dozens of tips about the whereabouts of escaped sex offender Randall Hopley, who left a halfway house on Saturday and remains at large. 

The VPD also released updated images of Hopley showing what he was wearing the day he went missing, including “distinctive” dark blue running shoes, a black baseball hat, black pants and a fanny pack. 

Const. Tania Visintin says police believe he is deliberately evading capture and may have found a rural or isolated place to hide.

Police say Hopley, 58, removed an ankle monitor and didn’t return to his halfway house on Nov. 4 in what they believe was an attempt to avoid a trial on Monday for allegedly breaching conditions of his release.

In a statement, the Vancouver Police Department says 18 officers are on the case and have reviewed 40 tips about possible sightings in Vancouver, Richmond, North Vancouver, and as far away as Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. 

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Police, who also released a new headshot of Hopley, say they know he took a bus just after 3 p.m. from near the Downtown Eastside halfway house and took off his ankle monitor about an hour later. 

Hopley completed a six-year prison term for the 2011 abduction of a three-year-old boy from his home in Sparwood in southeastern B.C., and was released with conditions under a long-term supervision order. 

He was arrested in January for allegedly breaching those conditions by visiting a library and getting too close to children, but was released on bail.

Hopley has a history of convictions for assault, property offences and sexual crimes that include three offences against children. 

He held the Sparwood boy captive in a cabin for four days before returning him apparently unharmed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2023. 

The Canadian Press