Shortly after midnight, driving back from Kelowna after seeing a movie, Claire – not her real name – noticed a vehicle driving right beside her while heading through Lake Country.

She saw that the driver had his hood pulled up and was wearing a hat and a black mask, possibly a medical mask.

"At the last lights, I gunned it," she said. iNFOnews.ca isn't using her real name to protect her identity.

Scared and driving "excessively fast," Claire hoped she would lose the stranger but he kept up with her.

"I slowed down to see if he would pass," she said.

He didn't.

She continued driving fast and then slowing down, but the whole time the other driver in a white minivan stuck right by her.

She got to the intersection with College Way and took a right turn, before quickly pulling back onto Highway 97.

The minivan driver did exactly the same thing.

"At which point I called the police," she said.

"I drove down to the police station and circled around that area while I was talking to the dispatcher," Claire said. "(The) guy kept following me and they told me to park at City Hall and lock my doors, so I did."

READ MORE: 'Traumatizing': Driver followed by masked man in Vernon

The guy then got out of his vehicle, still will his hood up and his mask on, and attempted to open the passenger door of Claire's car.

Two RCMP officers, along with a police dog, had been waiting and walked over and apprehended the man.

The whole ordeal lasted for about 20 to 30 minutes.

"I was shaking, I was on the verge of tears," Claire said.

She spoke briefly to the RCMP and then drove home. An officer called her to make sure she got home OK.

"They were very kind to me, but I wasn't overly impressed by their lack of action," Claire said.

RCMP gave the man a "stern caution" but he was never charged with an offence.

"I don't think they really understood how aggressively he was following me," Claire said.

According to an email the RCMP officer sent Claire after the incident, the man said he wanted to ask her out as she was giving him "signs."

"When I asked him about the signs, he said that it was that you had been altering your speed and changing lanes suddenly. I explained to him that, no, those were not signs that someone is interested in you, those are signs that the person is trying to get away from you," the RCMP officer told Claire in the email.

The officer said he held the man for "as long as I could" while he conducted an investigation "but there was nothing more that I was able to do and couldn't keep him any longer."

Claire said she felt like the RCMP just blew it off and thought that the guy was delusional.

"He had his face covered and all I could see was his eyes when he was at my (car) door," she said. "It's upsetting, I was pretty scared at the time."

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Vernon RCMP didn't forward the file to Crown prosecutors for a charge recommendation.

While proving a case is often more complex than people would think, the man's behaviour appears to fit in with the Canadian Criminal Code's definition of criminal harassment.

"No person shall... engage in conduct... that causes that other person reasonably, in all the circumstances, to fear for their safety," the Criminal Code reads.

The Code goes on to say it's illegal to engage "in threatening conduct" directed at a person.

It's hard to fathom how someone driving late at night wearing a mask and clearly following someone wouldn't fit into this category.

If criminal harassment wouldn't stick there are other charges and "mischief" is widely used in the court system for a variety of behaviours.

Vernon North Okanagan RCMP spokesperson Const. Chris Terleski said he couldn't comment on the file as the investigating officer was off work but did offer a routine statement.

"We want to first acknowledge the emotional impact these experiences have had on those involved and understand the concern hearing this information may cause for some. We want to reassure the public that incidents such as this are very rare. Any reports made to us are treated seriously and are investigated with the goal of determining the facts," Const. Terleski said in an email.

Claire was concerned the guy made it to her passenger door in the first place.

"If something had happened... they would have been too late," she said.

Claire said the RCMP didn't take her into the station to make a formal statement.

"I wasn't hugely impressed," she said.

The case is the second to recently come to light after a Prince George woman was blocked in and followed by a driver wearing a ski mask last month. The vehicles in the cases were different and there is nothing to suggest it was the same person.

The woman, and her 15-year-old daughter, were unharmed but incredibly shaken up. 

Claire said much the same thing. She didn't drive at night or on her own for a few days. Luckily, she says she feels much better now.

Const. Terleski said through police investigations there is nothing to indicate there is any increase or trend in attempted abductions.

The officer's use of the words "attempted abductions" shows how serious the behaviour is and again raised the question of why the RCMP didn't pursue charges.

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"In any situation, we want to remind residents to always be mindful of your personal safety and the importance of taking reasonable steps to keep yourself safe," Const. Terleski said.

"If you are in your vehicle and become concerned for your safety, stay inside your vehicle with your doors locked and call 911. Make your way to the police station or other well-lit, populated area where you can get help."

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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