Williams Lake, B.C. (Canadian Press) – The RCMP are defending themselves after a Williams Lake, B.C., teen froze to death despite calling 911 four times to ask for help when he became lost in the woods.
Matthew Armstrong, 18, was found dead on New Year’s Day, 10 hours after he made his first call to police.
Cpl. Marc Menard said Wednesday that when Armstrong made his fourth call at around 5 a.m., a 911 operator assured him help was on the way and police were going to find him.
“Over the course of these phone calls to 911, it is clear that Matt Armstrong was scared and very emotional,” Menard said in a statement.
“He clearly identified himself as Matt Armstrong and gave 911 operators his cell phone number.”
Menard said Armstrong told an operator he became lost after leaving a house party.
“He asked for help and wanted police to find him.”
An operator advised the detachment about Armstrong’s situation but was police were busy investigating a stabbing at a hospital, he said.
When officers headed to the woods 15 minutes later, they were called to another incident that involved arresting a suspect, who had to be taken to a cell at the detachment.
About an hour later, police began their search for Armstrong, Menard said.
“Over the course of the next four hours, RCMP investigators conducted numerous inquiries with people who were at the house party and they searched for foot tracks in the ditches,” he said.
Police couldn’t pinpoint Armstrong’s cell phone location because of tower reception problems, he said.
It wasn’t until about 12:30 that an RCMP investigator found Armstrong’s boot prints in the snow and a search and rescue crew was called, discovering his body at 3 p.m.
“This is a very tragic event that happened and we are in the process of conducting an operational review of the file to confirm a time line of that morning,” Menard said.
Sounds like you protest too much deep throat…the bottom line is…an 18 yr old died…try telling the parents of the 18 yr old that crap that your spilling….
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The nature of the intervening calls has yet to be completely analyzed. The time line has yet to be fully established. The technical failure is yet to be examined. The number of personnel working has not been stated. Availablility of search and rescue has not been addressed. Are the police equipped and trained for deep woods rescue? Are there enough on shift to ensure an immediate response of trained rescue cops provided for by the municipality, for people who go astray?
If you were being beaten, I would guess that you would readily await a response while they go and look for a party goer who wandered away from a bash and got lost but was in contact with 911? Might be a good idea to get all the facts before you launch. You have no idea the information that was relayed to the cops that were beginning a search 15 minutes after the call. But of course you do not care because you have already made up your mind that it was the wrong thing to do.
Why the RCMP? Its the flavor of the day. Municipal police have the same issues but its the RCMP that is fun to bash these days.
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Is it still true that change is happening within the RCMP structure or not?
I fail to see how anyone can think for one minute that a system like this one can ever be changed or modified.
Especially when I read articles like this one and see the kind of decissions being made out there after several 911 calls were made by someone freezing to death, it’s a huge mess, and then to add insult to injury or here to death out comes the ridiculous pityful stories showing their total disregard for human life.
When does the importance of an arrest over ride the importance of a human life and a young one at that?
And why does all these stories only come out of the RCMP and not municipal police forces?
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