Vancouver police release more photos of high-risk offender Randall Hopley as search continues
18 officers involved in search for convicted sex offender, 58, who removed his tracking device last Saturday
Vancouver police released a new set of photographs of convicted sex offender Randall Hopley on Friday afternoon, nearly a week after the 58-year old left his halfway house and did not return.
A police spokesperson said 18 full-time officers are involved in the hunt for Hopley, and have received at least 80 tips from members of the public in several jurisdictions.
Investigators also located what they believe is Hopley's cart near Main Street and East 8th Avenue, which police previously described the fugitive as likely having.
The latest batch of images are the most recent taken of Hopley yet, from surveillance video the day Hopley disappeared.
"These additional photos show how Hopley appeared on Nov. 4, before he left his halfway house and removed his electronic monitoring bracelet," said VPD Const.Tania Visintin in a statement Friday afternoon.
"Hopley is likely travelling on foot, wearing a hat and using cash to pay for purchases."
Visintin said investigators are "searching locations all over the city where he's believed to frequent," such as dollar stores, sewing supply stores, and Walmart.
The long-term offender is under a Canada-wide warrant, and served a six-year prison sentence for the 2011 abduction of a three-year-old boy in southeastern British Columbia.
He was released in 2018 on a 10-year, long-term supervision order and moved to a halfway house in Vancouver.
In a written statement published by The Canadian Press, the father of the child Hopley abducted said his family was not notified that Hopley was missing.
Hopley's criminal record also included convictions for assault and sexual crimes, including three sex offences against children.
Hopley's ankle bracelet was recovered by police in a lane near Main Street and East 8th Avenue, according to Addison.
Vancouver police say the 58-year-old boarded a bus last Saturday around 3 p.m. near Main and Cordova streets in the Downtown Eastside, and got off the bus roughly a half-hour later at Main Street and Broadway, after which police believe he removed his ankle monitoring bracelet.
Hopley is described as five feet nine inches tall and weighing 176 pounds, with brown hair and hazel-coloured eyes. He also has a dark birthmark or mole near the hairline on the left side of his head, according to VPD.
With files from Karin Larsen and David P. Ball