They say the first 48 hours are the most crucial in locating a missing person. Thanks to the support of BC Transit employees in Victoria, an elderly man was located safely just minutes after the initial call went out.
Clear protocols, open communication and immediate action. That combination is why things came together so quickly on the night of March 25, and a potentially dangerous situation was averted.
Below is a step-by-step account of how this event unfolded, with commentary from the BC Transit employees who made it happen.
3/25/2021 9:37pm – BC Transit receives BOLF (Be On Lookout For) report from VicPD that an elderly man is missing in Victoria. He is described as 91 yrs, 5’3″, slim build, balding with white hair, jacket with checkered sleeves, dark jeans and black shoes, last seen in the Bay Street area.
When BC Transit receives calls of this nature from local police in systems across the province, action is taken as soon as possible to relay the information out to those that need it. On this night, Transit Communications Communicator Shaun Groenesteyn was the first to get the notification.
“We quickly sift through the information in the control room, and make sure it’s a situation where we can help,” said Groenesteyn, who has been with BC Transit 14 years and with T-Comm for almost five years. “Then we get the description and key information out to operators to give us the best opportunity of helping police locate the missing person.”
3/25/2021 9:41pm – secure call is broadcast out to all active duty Victoria BC Transit operators and Transit Supervisors, with description and last known location provided.
Transit Operator Thomas Warr has been driving in Victoria with BC Transit for close to three years. On this night, he was driving a double decker towards downtown on the route 50, which took him through the area included in the BOLF shortly after the call went out.
“I was sitting at a red light at Douglas and Bay and saw a guy that seemed very similar to the description. I radioed in to see if the missing person also had a cane and hat, and the cane was confirmed. At that point I pulled over at a stop so I could keep an eye on him to make sure he didn’t wander off.”
Warr asked T-Comm if he should stay on site, at which point he would have alerted his current passengers to the situation. He was informed that a Transit Supervisor would be there shortly and he could proceed with his route to remain on schedule. Transit Supervisor Mark Pheiffer arrived and maintained visual on the man until VicPD could get to the scene after being alerted by T-Comm.
The total duration of this incident from a BC Transit perspective was less than an hour. The missing individual was likely disoriented and possibly scared. He also may have had family that was fearing the worst, and the length of time his location was unknown would have felt interminable.
Transit Operators and Supervisors act as the eyes and ears of their communities. While most people might think these missing person incidents wouldn’t be that common, according to Shaun Groenesteyn, it’s a regular occurrence.
“We get these calls daily, sometimes more. We do our best to keep our work transit-related, but we’re all humans. If we see somebody in distress we want to help. This BOLF program has been so great for years in helping us locate missing people.”
And to prove that point, Thomas Warr shared a story that happened the night before, as he helped support another missing individual.
“I let a customer off in Sooke, and after my turnaround I came back and he was at a stop across the road. After a brief conversation with him, I told T-Comm that they may want to send the RCMP out to make sure the man was okay. It turns out, his whereabouts were also unknown and people were probably worried. I was just in the right place at the right time.”
It’s easy to see how valuable of a resource BC Transit is for local police. And one of the biggest keys in this ongoing, and sometimes life-changing success is the relationship between the people on both ends of the radio.
“Absolutely. In T-Comm, we’re here to support the Operators and that’s the bottom line,” said Groenesteyn. “This recent situation is just another good example of that.”
