A high-risk child sex offender who vanished for multiple days was arrested early Tuesday morning (Nov. 14) in Vancouver.
Hopley was arrested in the Downtown Eastside shortly after 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14, and is currently in custody at the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»jail, according to the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Police Department (VPD).
The VPD said they will be making recommendations to the crown to “keep [Hopley] in custody."
After 10 days on the run, Hopley turned himself in at DTES VPD station
Glacier Media has confirmed with a source that Hopley turned himself in at the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Police Department building on East Cordova Street.
Hopley was standing near the front doors of the closed building when an off-duty VPD officer in civilian clothing saw the wanted man.
"Investigators have now spoken with Hopley and we can confirm that his intention was to turn himself in because he was cold," says Addison.
Hopley, 58, never returned to his Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»halfway house, the Salvation Army's Harbour Light facility, on Nov. 4. His electronic ankle monitor bracelet was removed at Main Street and East 8th Avenue. A Canada-wide warrant was subsequently issued.
Hopley did not return to the Downtown Eastside halfway house where he was living as part of his 10-year long-term supervision order. Police believe he was attempting to avoid a trial on Nov. 6 for allegedly breaching a long-term supervision order.
VPD's Const. Tania Visintin said police believed he was taking deliberate steps to avoid being found and hiding out in a rural or isolated area.
“We didn’t stop. This was the hugest priority for Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Police,” VPD Sgt. Steve Addison said of the manhunt following Hopley's failure to return to his halfway house on Nov. 4.
Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»police received an estimated 80 tips about Hopley since he disappeared.
Now that Hopley is back in custody, authorities say they will spend time talking with him to learn what he did over the 10-day span he was on the run.
“He’s a bit of a loner," said Addison during a press conference Tuesday afternoon, adding Hopley "doesn’t have a wide circle."
Hopley served six years for 2011 abduction of boy in southeastern B.C.
Back in 2011, he abducted 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. Hopley held the boy captive in a cabin for four days before returning him unharmed.
Hopley completed a six-year prison term for the incident.
He was arrested in January for allegedly breaching those conditions by visiting a library and getting too close to children and was released on bail.
'This case might be the one that creates change in the system': VPD
His November 2023 disappearance had been flagged to a national law enforcement database, other law enforcement agencies, border services, airlines, and BC Ferries.
Addison said that Hopley's disappearance could set a new precedent for how high-risk offenders living in the community are handled.
"This case might be the one that creates change in the system," remarked Addison.
“There are important conversations that are taking place now,” added Addison. “How a person like Hopley … was living in the community.”
