Search was delayed 18 days due to RCMP prioritization of simple 2 day case
Summary
18 days of the 80-day delay before the RCMP's first search for Lisa was due to an unrelated shooting which took 2 days to solve.
Detail
Searches by family
Ground searches by Lisa's family started almost immediately after her "disappearance".
Lisa's grandfather, Moses Martin, Tribal Chief of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and members of the tribal council's search and rescue team travelled from Meares Island (near Tofino), organizing dozens of searches by family members, friends, and others.[3] "We have to follow up on anything that we can get," said Chief Martin.[4]
The Tla-o-qui-aht also offered a $11,500 reward for information. "Her disappearance has touched people across Vancouver Island." He has organized search parties from Coombs to Tofino following leads garnered from tips, hunches and psychics. "We check everything out."[5]
Searches by RCMP
![Centis arrested at home 2 blocks from the police station, 2 days after [shooting his wife], as his daughter watched.](/w/File:Vs20020904a.png)
The first official search related to Lisa's disappearance was originally planned for the end of August 2002, but it was delayed due to the shooting of Rosella Centis[2], a Nanaimo woman who was shot:
- in the afternoon,
- at a gas station [on camera],
- by her husband,
- witnessed by their daughter.[6]
The husband was then arrested:
- without incident,
- less than 48 hours later,
- at home — 2 blocks from the police station."[6]
RCMP told the media that it was because of the ["open & shut", 2-day] Centis investigation, that Lisa's search (the 1st by RCMP) was delayed an additional 18 days, which finally took place 80 days after Lisa's disappearance.[2]
| Nanaimo Daily News | Thu July 25, 2002 | RCMP: "We've received well over 100 to 150 tips on the case."[4] |
| Nanaimo Daily News | Wed Sep 4, 2002 | "Husband now charged in fatal Sunday shooting"[6] |
| Nanaimo Daily News | Tue Sep 10, 2002 |
|
| Vancouver Sun | Sat Sep 14, 2002 | "Nanaimo RCMP will begin conducting land searches Tuesday"[1] |
| Vancouver Province | Tue Sep 17, 2002 | [Search is] "planned for Tuesday morning"[7] |
| Nanaimo Daily News | Wed Sep 18, 2002 | "Tuesday police were obviously looking for a body as they searched a wooded area south of Nanaimo"[8] |
| Globe & Mail | Mon Jan 10, 2005 |
|
See also
- Lisa had been missing 80 days before the RCMP's first ground search
- RCMP's first search was focused more on officer training than on Lisa
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Vancouver Sun (Sep 14, 2002),
Nanaimo RCMP to begin ground search for woman
vs20020914 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Paul Walton, Nanaimo Daily News (Sep 10, 2002),
Tips spark new search for woman
ndn20020910 - ↑ Eric Plummer, Ha-Shilth-Sa (June 24, 2019),
Legacy of Lisa Marie Young to hang in Tofino
hss20190624 - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nelson Bennett, Nanaimo Daily News (July 25, 2002),
Lisa's kin follow psychic tip
ndn20020725 - ↑ Jason Proctor, Vancouver Province (Sep 2, 2002),
Where is Lisa-Marie?
p20020902 - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Jim Beatty, Vancouver Sun (Sep 4, 2002),
Husband charged in Nanaimo shooting
vs20020904 - ↑ Jason Proctor, Vancouver Province (Sep 15, 2002),
RCMP continue to search for missing Nanaimo woman
p20020915 - ↑ Paul Walton, Nanaimo Daily News (Sep 18, 2002),
Grim Task: Police comb woods for Lisa Young
ndn20020918 - ↑ Rod Mickleburgh, Globe & Mail (Jan 10, 2005), "Man pleads guilty to killing wife"
