 |
OTTAWA - The RCMP have confirmed that the second Mountie missing since the earthquake in Haiti has died.
"Early this morning Supt. Douglas Coates' body was located by rescue crews searching through the rubble of the UN Headquarters building in Port-au-Prince Haiti, which was destroyed during the recent earthquake there," said Commissioner William Elliott at a press conference Saturday. "Identification was confirmed this afternoon."
Coates, 52, worked at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa and lived in Cantley, just north of Gatineau.
He was reported missing at the same time as Sgt. Mark Gallagher of Halifax. Gallagher's body was found Thursday in the rubble of his residence.
"On behalf of the RCMP and all of Doug's colleagues I wish to offer my profound sympathies to Doug's wife Lise, their children Julie, Mathieu and Luc, their family and friends," Elliott said. "At the time of his tragic death, Doug was doing what he did so well -- leading an international peacekeeping operation."
Coates joined the RCMP in 1978 and spent his first 10 years on the force in rural and First Nations communities in Alberta.
He later served in Ottawa with the Special Emergency Response team before moving to Quebec to head the proceeds of crime unit.
He was first deployed to Haiti in 1993 but was evacuated a few months later with the rest of his contingent due to the chaos resulting from the ouster of president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He returned the following year and helped open five police stations in the Grand Anse region, re-establishing police services for 800,000 people, the start of what his RCMP biography describes as a "brilliant" career in international policing.
He became head of the International Peace Operations Branch in 2007, creating partnerships with police services across Canada that have helped the RCMP meet the growing demand for Canadian police expertise around the world.
Coates returned to Haiti last June as head of the UN stabilization mission. He was one of 82 Canadian police officers working in Haiti when the earthquake hit.
"His natural leadership, commitment, energy and engaging personality inspired many others to work tirelessly beside him in an effort to help those less fortunate," said Deputy Commissioner Souccar Raf. "He was a gifted teacher who applied those talents to help others learn to help themselves. He did this with humility and respect for everyone he came into contact with.
"He was a great person who tried to do great things for a country in a great need of help," he added.
Meanwhile, Gallagher's body should be back on Canadian soil this week.
The Sun has learned that plans are underway to repatriate Gallagher on Wednesday or Thursday. "He will be brought to CFB Trenton in the same fashion fallen soldiers are," a source said.
Military officials are working with the RCMP on the details but the source says the Mounties are taking the lead on how it is handled.
"There will be police on hand and I suspect he will be transported to Toronto along the Highway of Heroes," the source stated.
It isn't clear yet if the plane will carry other Canadians who died there.
"Right now the priority in Haiti is more on the living than the dead and any plans could change," the source said.
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Marc LaPorte could not confirm the information but said he would as soon as he is apprised of any plans.
Elliott said the removal of Gallagher's body had been delayed because the residential structure where he was found is unstable.
-- With files from Joe Warmington and Pete Fisher