Canadian SAR has some issues.


"Conclusion of the fatal accident that took the life of a Montreal woman

On February 21st there were two more sightings of S.O.S. signals in the snow by skiers who alerted the RCMP. However, when the RCMP contacted Kicking Horse Resort they were told they already had done their investigation and there was no evidence supporting missing people. The RCMP did not take further action at that time.

Examiner Note: Why were the S.O.S. signs in the snow continuously ignored? A plea for help should never go unheeded.

On February 23rd the family of Blackburn and Fortin filed a missing person's report when the couple did not return home to LaSalle, Quebec (Montreal).

The following day, February 24th, the search resumed and a helicopter spotted a man waving his arms in the snow. He was rescued, but it was already too late for his wife who had frozen to death.

What went wrong

In B.C. the search and rescue team must first be given the okay to go on the search and rescue mission; they cannot just act on their own. While the search and rescue team waited for the RCMP to give them the okay, Blackburn and his wife were walking around for days in the snow. They built shelters wherever they could. Ian Foss, the manager of the volunteer Golden Search and Rescue team said, "It's pretty incredible that he actually survived," Foss said. "Ten days in the Canadian wilderness in the winter is pretty significant."

The couple did not have any food with them except for two granola bars. They found water to drink, and Blackburn even slipped under the ice into the water and managed to pull himself back up. Furthermore, this part of the country is steep rugged terrain and not a place for an inexperienced individual. Blackburn and his wife were experienced outdoor people and only Blackburn made it in the end. He was taken to the hospital with symptoms of frostbite.

Could his wife have been saved? If only the search was conducted two days sooner she would have been. The RCMP admits making an error in judgment by not launching a full-scale search sooner.

S.O.S. means help, not ignore!"

http://voices.yahoo.com/woman-dies-snow-rcmp-slow-respond-7475042.html