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Searching for accuracy

Searching for accuracy It seems that you didn't let the facts get in the way of a sensational editorial. There are a number of points I would like to address. "The troubled woman's 60-minute lead, on foot, proved too much for police" is a correct stateme

It seems that you didn’t let the facts get in the way of a sensational editorial. There are a number of points I would like to address.

“The troubled woman’s 60-minute lead, on foot, proved too much for police” is a correct statement, but neglects to point out that someone with that lead could travel up to five kilometres in that timeframe in any direction.

That’s a pretty good head start, don’t you think?

You go on to talk about SUVs and the police dog on Sunday, but don’t mention the four teams of searchers made up of Whitehorse District Search and Rescue and RCMP combing the area behind the hospital, travelling many kilometres.

You want to substitute a 10-year-old boy to compare how he would have been searched for. If you knew anything about lost-person behaviour, you would realize that searching for someone who wants to be found and someone who is avoiding you is apples and oranges.

Searching in the dark would have been a waste of time and manpower.

Are you getting the picture now?

I wouldn’t call you crazy as you stated, but ill-informed. Whether there are tear-stained parents or not, when we get called out to look for a lost soul, no matter who they are, we put everything we have into finding them safely. “So nothing was volunteered” was another reckless statement on your part.

In fact, Whitehorse District Search and Rescue put in 216 man hours looking for Kathreen Denbrok. We are true volunteers who receive no compensation for our time and energy.

“And RCMP search teams didn’t even find her.” Another one of your mistakes. In fact, the boy saw a woman acting strangely in the Hidden Lakes area and reported it to his parents, who reported it to the RCMP. Forty searchers made up of Whitehorse District Search and Rescue and RCMP covered 18.5 square kilometres to eventually find her that evening.

You have the ability through your newspaper to highlight the good or the bad of things.

Get your facts straight before you drag people through the mud who don’t deserve it. A simple phone call would have cleared up a lot of the errors in your piece.

Whitehorse District Search and Rescue is a group of your fellow community members from all walks of life who give up their time and money to train and be prepared to respond, often in the middle of the night, 365 days a year, to look for lost people. We meet the first Wednesday of every month.

How about you come out and see what we really do.

Cam Beemer, president

Whitehorse District Search and Rescue

Whitehorse