what a shame, such a young life lost to a sensless act. Teens are out of control with booze and drugs and it is getting worse.

The problem is RCMP resources were tied up looking for drinking drivers out for New Years (it was all they could focus on)... which is why search and rescue doesn't start until the next day at noon.

Common sense would say when we have deadly weather like this and when a call comes in for possible exposure that the possible exposure should take priority with an immediate search until the all clear is given, and counter attack takes a back seat. Do the counter attack next year when the weather isn't so cold.... The RCMP don't always follow common sense... where were the guys friends and why didn't they go for a look... nice friends.

There is a service called E-911 or enhanced 911 that is in the US and Europe that they could have easily located the caller's location within 30ft. Course here in Canada Telus, Rogers and Bell just keep soaking us the 911 fee and providing the old service that was technically outdated about 5 years ago. Our politicians should collectively start doing something for the little guy and get the Telco's to start spending the 911 charges on upgrades to the system, instead of going into their general revenues. IF we had this service it is very probably this fellow would have easily been located.

Eagleone, again, you don't have a clue what you are talking about. Were you there? Do you know the specifics of the incident other than what is being reported here? The resources were tied up trying to make the roads safer for everybody else because of the usual amount of drunks behind the wheel.Do you know the volume of calls received on New Years eve that require the police showing up at the door? Armchair quarterbacking at its finest.

You're probably right chilako-pete, but a guy died in the process. If he called and its minus-25 with no vehicle to keep him warm... in this weather... time could be very critical... I don't think I was casting blame, so much as stating the obvious. Maybe you didn't get it. A person exposed out doors in that weather could be dead in a half hour.

The volume of calls was exactly my point (chasing cars or drunks, same thing) and thus it would be a decision of priorities... I'm not saying anything went wrong... but a guy is dead, and with that type of call a response time would be critical, which apparently it was.

I don't know the details so I can't say, but we do have a few facts that can't be denied like the weather, the busy night, the priority level put to the call considering the situation? How long was he on the line... I have no idea? To think we don't have a right to ask these question is ludicrous.

It is a perfect world out there.
Drivers never get drunker than .08 and the RCPM make everything alright everytime.

What a tragedy. His poor folks.

Amazing. Yet another thread where the police are somehow blamed for a teen's tragic death.

I kinda agree with eagleone about why the search resources did not come in until noon, the 911 call came in at 5am, why the delay? Would the outcome, been different had a dog been brought in sooner? Just saying.

This young man's family and firends must be devistated and might even be feeling guilty for not some how predicting such an out come. My prayers are with them. If I were them, I too would be questioning why the police did not respond quicker. Daylight comes earlier than noon!

This is so sad. I wish the best to his friends/family. They have a long road ahead of them.

"Amazing. Yet another thread where the police are somehow blamed for a teen's tragic death."

The police were called by the young man who died. They made an attempt to follow it up, but then abandoned the attempt till noon the next day.

On another part on this site most people leay blame on the owner of two horses for not doing everything they possibly could do to save them or get them out of their penfing misery.

Why can we not blame the police for not trying to do everything they could to save a HUMAN life and SUFFERING of that HUMAN as he transitioned from life to death? That is what 911 calls are for. If the RCMP could not do it themselves, they ought to have the ability to mobilize some more appropriate people.

Maybe the snowmobilers and residents of the McBride area need to provide some assistance to the people of Williams Lake in how it is done.

Well said gus!

There is certainly more to this story than what is being reported. We are not privy to all the details. The police response may have been lax in this instance but without further details it is impossible to acertain the exact cause of this tragic death besides exposure. It is possible that SAR resources weren't available until noon the next day.

And as always...it seems the RCMP is damned if they do...damned if they don't.

TELUS Mobility's E911 service is currently accessible in most of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.

E911 is not yet available in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, PEI, the Greater Halifax area of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and in some rural areas of Ontario and Quebec due to limitations with landline network capabilities. The local phone companies in some of these areas have not yet upgraded their 911 switches with the technology necessary to allow wireless carriers to support E911 enhancements.

Strange that the 911 services don't seem to be able to take advantage of it then. E-comm which provides 911. The service that provides calls for lower mainland even advises people as such.

http://www.ecomm.bc.ca/newsroom/129-129

Can anyone comment on E911 being supported in our region ?

I agree with Mercenary above. We only know what we know because that's what Opinion250 fed us. We don't know all the particulars, yet people want to lay judgment anyway. I guess that's how this site works.

And anytime people can find a reason to blame cops for something, they're all over it.

MrPG ... good news does not make the news. When a "cop" does something right, like not giving someone who is speeding because the individual has a pregnant wife in labour in the passenger seat, it does not make the news. On the other hand, when the "cop" gives that person a speeding ticket, it does.

That is just how it is and it is. You got a way to change it?

BTW, did you ever notice how few comments there are on this site related to some of the "good news" stories as opposed to the "bad news" or "controversial news" stories?

BTW, the call apparently came at 5am. The police also went to his home to make sure he was not there.

They assume he died of exposure, but are not sure at the time the news broke

When he died has not been identified in the news yet, so it would be difficult to say that finding him at 6am, 7am, etc, let's say, would have found him alive.

Weather conditions did not allow for a helicopter to take to the sky.

Why are so many people determined to blame someone else for an unfortunate outcome? Judgement, criticism, and blame seem to permeate our society. Is it that we are all so perfect that we want to find flaw in others to make us feel better? Why is it so difficult to hold back our comments until more of the details are known?

Why is there such a shortage of empathy for the loss of this young lad? What about his friends and his family? It could have been your son deciding to walk home because there was nobody sober enough to give him a ride. It could have happened right in your neighborhood and anyone could succumb to exposure in a very short period of time in the kind of weather we have had. Where have the caring & compassionate people gone?

I don't feel it's a question of who's to blame, it's more a question of how could this happen? There was a call for help at 5am, news has reported dog and search crews dispatched at 12pm.(7hrs!)(my 3yr son wandered away from a babysitter, police were called, dog was there within the hour)If all search crews were on other assignments, what's priority, or do B.C. rural communities need 'more' resources. Sympathy to the parents,family and friends.

Very well said, Chester. Yes, this site tends to bring out the torch and pitchfork crowd. Again, we don't know the background and details of this story, so that does not mean it's automatically the cops' fault, contrary to popular opinion.

My condolences to the family and friends of the young man.

A terrible tragedy, yet there is something for all teenagers and parents can learn from this. Teenagers will drink in excess, this is fact and continues apparently into adulthood. Without knowing actual details like did he live close by, was family nearby and were they notified, we can only make assumptions.

Can we fault his friends? A person can silently leave a party undetected, incoherent or embarrased enough not to gather assistance from friends and family. Young men chose to portray responsibilty and toughness. I make an assumption that this young man could only muster a call to 911, because of his level of inebriation. You also can't expect incapacitated people to get involved in a search.

Now, if the local constabulary was to ring my door and ask to assist in a search in a local area, I would oblige, like most probably would in our smaller tight knit communities (assumption?).

How was the weather at the time? Fresh snow is easy to track in. If indeed a seach was delayed for such a lengthy time, I do have to question the RCMP's actions and policies. SAR, I assume was available and would be ready within 7 hours? I don't believe air support was immediately required. How about some input from an SAR member?

E911, what is this? What services are we getting for this fee that appears on our mobile and landline bills. Maritimer claims we have this ability? True or false?
Is it only in the movies that a cellphones position can be obtained by triangulation, if it is powered on? Anyone? Perhaps a warrant is required?

Now being a failed rocket scientist, I would have contacted the service provider. The calling number could have been ascertained and possibly the phone could have been rung for a call back or to assist in aiding the search. Of course that is if the caller had hung up and battery power was sill sufficient.

But most importantly, I believe the parents and teenagers need more communication regarding drinking and such. I believe it should be stressed to your children the consequences of overdoing it if you do indulge. I always found that my own warning sign of impending instability is the onset of double vision, at this point party time is over and the bar is closed. Parents need to ensure and assure that it is not an embarassment to call home for help,nor an inconvenience and no consequences will be doled out as a result.
Teens are undoubtedly rebellious and will follow their own path whether right or wrong, provide the support and knowledge when they lapse, it may prevent a tradegy.

You can tell whether you have enhanced 911 service if your bill shows and extra charge for it according to the telus site:

http://www.telusmobility.com/about/public_affairs/e911.shtml

E911 has been available in parts of Canada for several decades for land lines. It is simply a matching up of the phone number with the database of physical addresses of the phone number.

In the case of a cell, it can be handled either with a gps capability of the phone or the location of the cells used for the originating calls plus triangulation if more than two towers are "visible". In the latter, an actual line of sight is required, thus mountainous regions are typically not well sereved.

I believe Rogers is presently upgrading the system.

Does Williams lake have a dog service?
What is the compliment of Mounties in Williams lake?
the call came in at 0500 and body was found at 1200 ... lets assume that search lasted 2 hours before discovery ... 5 hours is actually a pretty quick turn around to get SAR etc rolling (dogs from PG or Kamloops..min 3 hours)

all this E sercive on cells phones etc ... only works if you are in a Digital service region ... I dont know the area where this kid was found but with such a wooded area that he got lost I suspect its a rural area and therefore only has Analog service

Now dont get me wrong its tragic that this kid is dead ... but everyone is so quick to blame the Mounties ... Its of my expiriance that most people have their head stuffed up their butt when it comes to such things and have seen one too many episodes of CSI or someother police type drama

Folks this happened in Dog Creek not Williams Lake. The RCMP did a lot of checking around before S&R called but maybe they could have called sooner. The kid called on a cell phone which does not show location like a 911 landline call. Also he did not have a clue where he was when he called and police didn't know where to start untill they had time to put all the clues together in the investigation.

That link to the Telus site finally makes sense. What they call E911 is not the same as the US or Europe. It seems Telus is happy to just pass along the cell tower and cell number of the person calling. That is not really E-911. IT should, depending on the settings of your phone, turn on the internal GPS and provide that information to the 911 Centre. This of course is up to you to enable, if you have that feature ( which the majority do now a days ).

So basically my stance on this is that Telus and the rest of the carriers are still not using the Emergency service as it is capable of providing and yet we pay so much for 911 service.

See http://b2b.vzw.com/govt/gpse911.html for how should be working here in Canada.