News release

Bonavista RCMP charge man with multiple offences after police order Catalina residents to shelter-In-place

September 22, 2025 - Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador
From: Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP

Content

RCMP Newfoundland and Labrador arrested 31-year-old Tyler William Linthorne Saturday morning. An arrest warrant for Linthorne was issued Friday after police ordered a shelter-in-place for all residents of Catalina. He is being held in custody to appear before the courts and faces multiple assault, kidnapping, threats and driving-related charges.

At approximately 10:30 p.m. on Thursday September 18, 2025, Clarenville-Bonavista District RCMP responded to a disturbance in progress along Route 230 near Charleston. Officers located a vehicle involved in the Port Rexton area and a woman, who called out for help, was observed being forced inside the vehicle.

Officers pursued the vehicle, which fled at a high rate of speed. An attempt to stop the vehicle with a tire deflation device was unsuccessful and the vehicle was last seen travelling along Route 237.

RCMP located the damaged vehicle abandoned on a rural roadway near Catalina. RCMP Police Dog Services (PDS) was engaged and assisted with a search of the area.

The RCMP Newfoundland and Labrador Emergency Response Team (ERT) was also consulted and deployed to assist.

Out of an abundance of caution, at approximately 6:30 a.m. Friday morning, RCMP Newfoundland and Labrador issued an Alert Ready notification to all residents in the Catalina area, containing an order to shelter-in-place as frontline officers, PDS and ERT continued their search for the suspect.

The shelter-in-place order was lifted shortly after 8:00 a.m., after investigators determined that there was no further risk to public safety in the Catalina area.

Bonavista RCMP obtained an arrest warrant for 31-year-old Tyler Linthorne and police issued an appeal for the public’s help to locate him.

Police responded to an overnight theft of a vehicle which was located on Saturday morning, September 20 near Route 230, and a short distance from the Trans-Canada Highway.

With assistance from the Emergency Response Team, police located and arrested 31-year-old Tyler Linthrone without incident shortly after 9:00 a.m. He is being held in custody to appear before the courts.

Linthorne is charged with:

• Assault,
• Kidnapping,
• Uttering threats,
• Flight from police,
• Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle,
• Possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000

The second occupant of the vehicle involved in Friday’s incident was also safely located on Saturday morning.

The investigation is ongoing.

RCMP Newfoundland and Labrador thanks everyone in the affected communities for their cooperation with the shelter-in-place order.

A shelter-in-place allows police to protect the safety of the general public and ensures officers can effectively dedicate resources to the incident at hand.

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