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Police reveal the most stolen vehicle in Ottawa and Queensway shutdown causes gridlock: Top five stories this week

Construction crews continue preparations on Thursday for the Booth Street Bridge replacement. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa) Construction crews continue preparations on Thursday for the Booth Street Bridge replacement. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)
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The Honda CRV is the most popular target for thieves in Ottawa so far this year and a majority of public servants don't want to return to the office.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top five stories on our website this week.

Ottawa woman missing for 42 years had been living outside Canada before her death

An Ottawa woman who went missing 42 years ago had been living outside of Canada before her death recently.

Ottawa police announced this week that Dale Nancy Wyman had been living outside of the country since her disappearance on July 16, 1980.

Wyman was 22 when she left her family's home with a suitcase and hailed a cab to the Voyageur bus station on Catherine Street. The cab driver told police that Wyman mentioned that she was not sure where she as going, perhaps Toronto or Montreal.

In May 2021, police released age-progressed sketches and a video message from her family in the hopes of finding her.

Police say recently, a third party came across the post and contacted Wyman's family to say she had been living outside the country and she has recently passed away.

Ottawa Police issued an "age progressed" sketch of Dale Nancy Wyman, last seen in Ottawa in 1980. (Photo courtesy: Ottawa Police Service)

Five-kilometre section of Queensway closed until Monday

Motorists faced significant traffic delays on roads across the city of Ottawa this weekend, as a five-kilometre section of the Queensway closed for construction.

All eastbound and westbound lanes of Hwy. 417 were closed over the weekend between Metcalfe Street and Carling/Kirkwood Avenues for the replacement of the Booth Street Bridge. Using rapid-bridge replacement technology, crews will remove the existing Booth Street Bridge and then move the new bridge into place.

"The conventional approach would take about two construction seasons and it would mean closing a lane at a time, obviously having a huge impact on traffic," said Frank Vanderlaan, Ministry of Transportation, Highway Engineering Planning and Design.

"Being able to do it over an 82-hour period has a huge benefit."

A look at the Booth Street Bridge under the Queensway. Crews will work through the weekend to replace the bridge. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

One person killed in crash on ramp from Highway 401 to 416

One person was killed in a head-on crash on the ramp from Hwy. 401 to Hwy. 416 south of Ottawa this week.

Ontario Provincial Police say a vehicle was heading southbound on the northbound ramp, which goes from the eastbound Hwy. 401 to Hwy. 416 heading to Ottawa early Friday morning.

The vehicle crashed head-on into a tractor-trailer. The driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead.

Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a fatal crash on the on-ramp from Hwy. 401 to Hwy. 416 on Friday morning. (Ontario Provincial Police)

Why many Ottawa public servants oppose return-to-office plans

After more than two years of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, many public servants don't want to return to the office.

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada says 60 per cent of their membership is opposed to returning to the office, while 25 per cent would support a hybrid set up of working from home and returning to the office. Just 10 per cent of respondents are in favour of a return to the office.

"It’s an antiquated notion that you have to be sitting in a workplace, in an office and doing your job there when people have been, for the last two years, capable of doing their tasks at home," said Greg Phillips, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees.

The Privy Council Office is asking federal departments to create a return to office plan for the fall.

"I believe in the next few weeks, few months, we’ll be addressing these questions and, of course, we’ll have to experiment and we’ll have to make adjustments as we go along," Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said on Monday.

"A one-sized approach doesn’t work necessarily. Look at the Coast Guard, there are different needs compared to Service Canada, that’s why we need to all work together, make sure we deliver the services to Canadians."

File photo of downtown Ottawa. (Photo by Robbie Palmer of Unsplash)

These are the most stolen vehicles in Ottawa so far in 2022

Hundreds of vehicles have been reported stolen in the city of Ottawa so far this year, with the Honda CRV the most popular target for thieves.

The Ottawa Police Service tells CTV News Ottawa that 493 vehicles have been reported stolen so far this year. There were 1,069 vehicle thefts in 2021 and 811 in 2000, according to the Ottawa Police Service crime statistics. 

The top vehicles stolen in Ottawa in 2022, according to Ottawa Police:

  • Honda CRVs – 149
  • Lexus / Toyota - 145
  • Jeep Cherokee / Dodge Durango -  137
  • Ford pickup / Lincoln - 44
  • Acura RDX - 18

A grey Honda CRV may be the suspect vehicle in a fatal Surrey hit-and-run. (Handout)

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