“We’re working around the clock": New details released in search for BC sex offender

Vancouver police say the search for a convicted sex offender has led to dozens of tips, but Randall Hopley is still at large, and officers are working around the clock to find him.

In an effort to help catch him, police on Wednesday released new images as the search enters day five, and concerns in the community are mounting.

Hopley has a history of sexual abuse against children and was convicted in a 2011 high-profile kidnapping of a child in Sparwood, BC.

He has been living in a halfway house on the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver since his release from prison as a condition of his 10-year supervision order but failed to return to the halfway house on November 4, police say, prompting a search both by land and sea.

“We share the fear and anxiety the community feels over his disappearance, given his history of violent offences against children, and we thank everyone for their patience and support while we work bring Hopley back into custody,” VPD Const. Tania Visintin said.

More than a dozen Vancouver police officers have been working to find him, as well as officers with the VPD Marine Unit, and officers say they’ve reached more than 40 tips from the public and know more details about the day he went missing.

“Police now know that Hopley boarded a bus at 3:10 pm near Main and Cordova streets after leaving his halfway house on Saturday. He got off that bus at 3:26 pm at Main and Broadway. At 4:08 pm he removed his electronic monitoring bracelet near Main Street and East 8th Avenue,” Visintin shared Wednesday.

“These pictures show the distinctive running shoes Hopley was wearing and a cart he was pulling when he left his halfway house Saturday afternoon,” Visintin added.

VPD

VPD

Hopley is 5’9” with dark short hair and brown eyes, last seen wearing a black baseball hat, black pants, and dark blue running shoes with white markings and soles. He was also wearing a black fanny pack and was pulling a cart.

He has a dark birthmark or mole near the hairline on the left side of his head.

VPD

VPD

“We believe Hopley is taking deliberate steps to avoid being found, and he may be hiding out in a rural or isolated area.”

Anyone with information on Hopley is urged to call 911 immediately. Do not approach him.