(UPDATE: May 3 @ 11 a.m.) – A GoFundMe has been created to support the elderly West Kelowna woman who was brutally attacked and left in the back country on Monday night.

Ellie Holmes is still recovering after the incident, which landed Kevin Lee Barrett in jail and facing attempted murder charges.

The 79-year-old Holmes will need many months to make a physical and mental recovery and it's expected to put a financial strain on her.

As a result, the office manager from Westview Village Mobile Home Park, where Holmes lives, has created the GoFundMe to assist her during this difficult time.

"I am trying to make this new transition in Ellie life a little easier on her as Ellie will not be able to work," said Lori Flamand-Rapp, the office manager.

"I just want to help Ellie with some of her repairs of her home as well help Ellie with any of the financial aide she will need in the future."

In addition, Bailey's Shine Shop in West Kelowna will be donating their services for free to clean blood splatter out of Holmes' SUV and fix up other minor issues with the vehicle.

If you'd like to join the community in assisting Holmes through this long recovery period, click this link.

(UPDATE: May 1 @ 4 p.m.) – One individual has been charged in relation to the assault of a 79-year-old woman that occurred on Monday evening. 

The 60-year-old West Kelowna man was taken into police custody and has been formally charged with one count of attempted murder.

Kevin Lee Barrett appeared in Kelowna Law Courts on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. and will be back in court on Monday.

Barrett was previously charged with assault causing bodily harm in August of last year, in which he was found guilty, and uttering threats in May 2018, in which a stay of proceedings was directed by the Crown. It is believed that these instances are not related to the current charge.

Police are continuing their search of a key witness, who may have come into contact with Barrett and the 79-year-old woman Monday evening, and are asking them to come forward.

“RCMP continue their search for who they believe will be a key witness in this case,” states Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey of the Kelowna RCMP.

“Further investigation has led police to believe that the victim and the accused may have come into contact with the unknown citizen, during the early evening hours of Monday, while still inside the victim’s West View Village mobile home complex.”

(Original Story: Apr. 30 @ 3:20 p.m.) 

West Kelowna RCMP are issuing a plea to the community, asking an unknown witness to come forward after they responded to a call of a seriously injured woman found stranded in the backcountry on Monday evening.

According to police, two bystanders found a seriously injured woman alone in the bush. RCMP received a call asking for assistance at 8:34 p.m.

The man and a woman who found the victim transported her out of the rural Okanagan backcountry and met frontline RCMP officers and BC EHS paramedics in the area of Bear Lake FSR and Westside Road.

RCMP learned that the woman was a 79-year-old from West Kelowna. She was rushed to hospital by BC EHS to treat the serious bodily injuries she had sustained during the attack.

“Our preliminary investigation has revealed that the elderly woman was the victim of an alleged assault, carried out by an individual who was well known to her,” states Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey, spokesman for the Kelowna RCMP.

Police have identified and arrested a 60-year-old West Kelowna man who they believe drove the victim from her residence at the Westview Village Mobile Home Park located in the 1900-block of Highway 97 in West Kelowna to a remote area in the woman's own vehicle, a grey 2005 Nissan X-Trail with BC license plates (FM590J).

During the trip from Westview Village to the undisclosed location, police believe that a witness encountered the victim and her assailant.

“Our investigators would like to speak with the citizen, who they believe was concerned for the well-being of the elderly woman, when he encountered the suspect and the victim along the way,” adds Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey.

“We have reason to believe that the suspect re-assured the stranger that he was taking the injured elderly victim to hospital for care.”

File Photo

RCMP are urging the citizen who encountered the victim to speak with police immediately. Additionally, anyone with additional information is asked to contact the West Kelowna RCMP General Investigation Section at 250-768-2880, or remain completely anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or by leaving a tip online at www.crimestoppers.net.