Beaten elder gets help

Photo: Google Street View

An elderly woman was found badly beaten on the Bear Lake Main Forest Service Road.

An elderly West Kelowna woman who is still recovering from a vicious beating is overwhelmed with the community support that has poured in. 

Friends of Ellie Holmes describe the 79-year-old woman as ‘Amazing Ellie’ and created a GoFundMe campaign after she was beaten and left for dead on a forest service road. 

RCMP say she was found on Bear Lake Main Forest Service Road near Westside Road at about 8:30 p.m. Monday. 

Police believe the woman was assaulted at the mobile home park and taken in her vehicle to the backwoods area where she was found.

Police said a person “who was well known to her” was arrested, and 60-year-old Kevin Lee Barrett has since been charged with attempted murder.

Her friend, Lori Flamand-Rapp, office manager at Westview Village Mobile Home Park, started the GoFundMe which raised over $5,000 in just two days.

“I told her that I had started this page for her, she began to tear up, she was so grateful to everyone for all your donations, love and support,” she said. “Ellie was so overwhelmed with her community's generosity.”

Flamand-Rapp describes Holmes as petite, being five-foot-four in height and weighing about 115 lb. Holmes will now start the recovery process and will have many months of healing physically, and mentally. 

“Ellie was so surprised at the response. She knew she lived in an amazing community, but never thought such incredible things could happen to her,” said Flamand-Rapp.

As for Barrett, he is currently going through the court system on other charges and his next court appearance is scheduled for Monday.