Canadian Ranger off duty during fatal search and rescue
The Canadian Forces are confirming the Ranger from Lac Brochet, Man. who died while searching for a missing man, was off duty at the time.
Cpt. Steven Parker said Master Cpl. Alphonse M. Denechezhe, 47, had volunteered, along with another ranger, to look for a man that went missing between Manitoba and Wollaston Lake, Sask.
“The Canadian Rangers themselves are Canadian Arms Forces and therefore a federal asset—search and rescue is generally a provincial responsibility, so what happens is … at times when they called into search and rescues they do go on official status but what has to happen is the local authority … they actually have to put a formal request for assistance,” Parker explained.
“Since that is not always what the local community wants to do, what they’ll do is they’ll go and seek volunteers. The volunteers often tend to also be Canadian Rangers because they train in that activity.”