Keith Fraser, Vancouver, B.C. (Vancouver Province) – The husband of a woman who froze to death while lost in the B.C. backcountry is suing the RCMP, search-and-rescue officials and ski- resort officials for negligence.
On Feb. 15, Gilles Blackburn and his wife, Marie Josee Fortin, of Montreal, skied from the top of a ski lift in the Kicking Horse Resort. They tried to return to the resort but became lost.
Six days later, Fortin, 44, a nurse, died of chronic hypothermia. Her husband was rescued two days later by a passing helicopter.
But during the days spent in the Canyon Creek area of the Rocky Mountains bordering the resort, Blackburn had stamped SOS signals in different locations into the snow with his skis in a bid to attract attention to passing aircraft, says the lawsuit.
The statement of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court says that on or about Feb. 17, Purcell Helicopter Skiing Ltd. reported seeing the signals to the staff of the resort.
On the same day, the staff notified search-and-rescue officials in Golden, B. C. and four days later, Purcell notified the RCMP that the signals had been spotted in Canyon Creek and the RCMP reported the sighting to search and rescue, says the lawsuit.
The RCMP, search and rescue and the resort are all named as defendants.
They “all negligently failed to initiate or conduct a search for the plaintiff or Ms. Fortin or otherwise properly investigate the source and significance of the SOS signals,” says the lawsuit.
Blackburn says he suffered permanent loss of parts of both feet, nervous shock, depression, nightmares and anxiety and continues to undergo medical care and treatment.
He’s seeking general, special and punitive damages.
In March, an RCMP officer in Golden apologized for failing to authorize a search for several days.
RCMP and search-and-rescue officials could not be reached. A spokesman for the resort said there would be no comment at this point.
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