First Nation calls for emergency response improvements after couple stranded on island

A Saskatchewan First Nation is calling for emergency response improvements after a couple was allegedly left stranded on a remote island for two days before being rescued.

The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation said the RCMP was alerted about the missing couple but did not take action, “leaving search efforts to community members.”

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According to the Cree nation, the couple from Southend – both in their late 50s – became stranded on Milton Island in Reindeer Lake earlier this month, relying on their own survival skills to stay alive while community members worked to organize a search-and-rescue operation.

“The couple departed Tate Island at about 2 p.m. on Nov. 13 when they experienced engine trouble and their boat began taking on water,” the Cree nation said in a statement.

“They reached Milton Island, where they became stranded. Throughout the ordeal, the couple – cold and wet – survived by huddling under a shared blanket on spruce boughs and keeping a fire burning the entire time.”

A family member launched a search the following morning, the First Nation said, and the couple was ultimately rescued on Nov. 15, “suffering from hypothermia after two days in sub-zero temperatures.”

The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation said the RCMP was contacted on the evening of Nov. 13, “but did not activate a search or notify search-and-rescue services, even though the couple had not returned as planned.”

The Cree nation said the RCMP fuelled a boat, but did not set out to search for the missing pair “due to unfamiliarity with the lake system.”

“Efforts to secure medical transport exposed additional gaps,” the Cree nation noted.

“Floatplanes in La Ronge were grounded due to frozen bays, and the Saskatchewan Health Authority confirmed it had no rotary-wing medical transport contract for northern Saskatchewan. STARS Air Ambulance was also unavailable, leaving no established air-medical option in place when rapid evacuation was needed.”

After six hours of trying, the community was able to arrange for a helicopter to airlift the couple to safety.

“La Ronge EMS provided care during the flight, and the couple is now safe,” the First Nation said.

Peter Ballantyne Chief Peter Beatty said the gaps in the provincial and federal emergency response systems left the couple facing significant risk.

“This incident shows that both levels of government must strengthen their emergency-response responsibilities in the North,” Beatty said in a statement.

Chief Peter Beatty of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation says both the federal and provincial governments need to improve the ways they respond to emergencies in northern Saskatchewan. (paNOW)

“The province oversees medical transport and EMS coordination, and the federal government oversees policing and search response. In this situation, neither system met the needs of our community.”

Beatty said the First Nation wants to see immediate changes to fill the gaps in emergency services, including clear protocols and contracts for helicopter evacuations, improved co-operation between agencies and the creation of “reliable pathways for medical emergencies and search operations” in areas where cell service limits access to 9-1-1.

“We are asking for equitable emergency services,” Beatty said.

“Northern residents should receive the same emergency support as any other citizen, free of the systemic inequities that our Nation continues to face.”

RCMP says conditions too dangerous for immediate rescue

In an emailed statement, Saskatchewan RCMP said officers from the Southend detachment were  told about the missing boaters around 8:20 p.m. on Nov. 13 and “immediately assessed the situation.”

“It was dark and weather conditions were poor — high winds were creating swells on the lake, temperatures were frigid and there were periods of heavy rain and snow. As boat and aerial searches would be currently impossible and dangerous to any involved searchers, Southend RCMP began making plans to start a search at first daylight, which included consultation with Saskatchewan RCMP Search and Rescue,” the statement read.

Saskatchewan RCMP said the Southend detachment, working, with Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) was to do an aerial search for the boaters early on Nov. 14 but it was delayed because of poor weather.

Southend RCMP also liaised with Prince Albert Grand Council Search and Rescue, the statement said, adding that two groups of civilian searchers with extensive local knowledge also began searching on Nov. 14.

“It’s our understanding they were also met with extreme conditions; one of the two groups had to shelter overnight during their efforts,” RCMP said.

The statement went on to say the detachment commander kept “the boater’s loved ones and community leadership, including Chief Peter Beatty,” informed.

RCMP said weather conditions on Nov. 15 allowed CASARA began an aerial search over Reindeer Lake, but before the plane reached the search area, officers at the Southend detachment were told civilian searchers found the missing pair.

“We welcome dialogue with community partners on how we can continue to work together to ensure non-criminal emergency services, such as medical, fire and search-and-rescue response, are available in all Saskatchewan communities,” the statement said.

RCMP responses criticized by Sask. First Nations

Last week, leaders with the Meadow Lake Tribal Council criticized the Saskatchewan RCMP for slow responses to emergency calls, saying the current policing model is failing and creating a public safety crisis.

Tribal Chief Jeremy Norman said it’s not unusual for people to have to wait over an hour for police to arrive after calling 9-1-1.

Dene Vice-Chief Norma Catarat agreed, saying “response times are horrendous.”

According to Catarat, it took police an hour and a half to respond after someone died in one of the tribal council’s communities, and it took another 18 hours before a coroner arrived.

With such slow response times, some leaders said they’ve had to allocate hundreds of thousands of dollars towards enhancing security, instead of channeling those funds towards other areas like mental health and addiction support or community housing.

Responding to the criticisms on Thursday, Assistant Commissioner Robin McNeil, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP, said he understands and shares the frustrations felt in many communities.

“It’s important to note that police response times to calls for service vary significantly from one area to the other and from one incident to the next,” McNeil said in a statement.

“A number of factors influence response times, such as the geographical challenges that come with the vast size of many of our detachment areas, road and weather conditions, call severity, the volume and level of urgency of other calls for service we are responding to at the same time. In many of our remote, rural and northern communities, police officers aren’t just solving crime – they also may respond to fires, to medical emergencies, and to mental health crises, among others.”

The RCMP leader said calls have increased by 45 per cent over the past 10 years, with violent crime and gun-related crimes also rising sharply during the same period.

McNeil said he has “the utmost pride and confidence” in his officers and staff, who are “undoubtedly maintaining the safety” of communities across the province.

Meanwhile, a Saskatchewan RCMP officer – Cst. Kalen Henderson of the Maidstone RCMP – was charged with a breach of trust this month after allegedly failing to leave the detachment for nine hours after being dispatched to perform a wellness check at a rural property in April of 2024. According to a report by the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team, a police oversight agency, the subject of the wellness check request died in hospital after his relatives arrived to check on him.

Henderson is expected to appear in court next month in Lloydminster.

–with files from 650 CKOM’s Marija Robinson