(CBC News) – An RCMP officer from the Maritimes is one of two Canadian police officers still missing in Haiti in the aftermath of Tuesday’s massive earthquake.
Sgt. Mark Gallagher, who was recently based in Nova Scotia, has been in Haiti with the United Nations since July, training and mentoring members of the Haitian police force.
Gallagher, 50, had lived in Halifax and acted as the RCMP spokesman for Halifax and the New Brunswick cities of Moncton and Bathurst until he left for Haiti. His family is now in New Brunswick, where Gallagher is scheduled to resume work with the force when he returns to Canada in April.
Gallagher’s wife, Lisa, told The Canadian Press she last spoke to her husband as he was heading to bed, about 30 minutes before the earthquake struck. She has not heard from him since.
According to Gallagher, her husband was based at the United Nations compound in Port-au-Prince and lived in a two-storey apartment building with at least one other RCMP officer.
The other missing officer is Supt. Doug Coates of Ottawa.
As of 2 p.m. AT Wednesday, 80 of the 82 Canadian police officers in Haiti had been located, said RCMP Sgt. Pat Flood, the national media relation’s officer in Ottawa.
It’s still not clear what happened to the missing officers, she said.
“I’m not sure where they were actually located at the time of the earthquake,” Flood said. “We’re working with our police and government partners to do everything we can to try to locate them.
“Obviously, our priority is their safety, and the safety and security of all members in mission, and to provide support to their families back here in Canada.”
Maintaining communication on the ground in Haiti has been a challenge, she said.
“Telecommunications are very challenging, very difficult. So we’re doing what we can to try to locate them and keep the communication open between the police officers who are over there and the RCMP here in Ottawa.”
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