She offered up a review of the case, the impact his passing had on the community and how it may have provided for the community to look to start up its search and rescue group again.
This past winter was a particularly hard one for the community of Prince Rupert. Several lives were lost in a spate of crashes on Highway 16 over the span of a few short weeks, giving new meaning to the term Highway of Tears. One of those lost was 26-year-old Adam Moore. Adam went missing in the early hours of December 29, seemingly vanishing without a trace. He was a beloved son, a brother, a cousin and a friend to so many.
His disappearance rallied our community into action, as hundreds of volunteers joined the search, desperate to bring him home. Prince Rupert waited, holding out hope that Adam would be found alive and well. Sadly, the search came to a tragic end on January 8, when his vehicle was discovered submerged in the ocean.
As a community, we mourned his passing. Yet even in darkness of this tragedy, there was light. Prince Rupert came together in a way that is rarely seen in this day and age. From the searchers out combing the ditches on a 140-kilometre stretch of highway on foot, to the drivers who kept a constant watch as they drove their normal commute, to the emergency response organizations who searched tirelessly, to the people who cooked and baked and opened their homes and their hearts to the searchers, Prince Rupert was united in a quest to find Adam.
As part of her remembrance of the young man, Ms. Rice outlined that out of the tragedy has apparently come a renewed commitment from some in the community to rebuild the areas once highly regarded land based search and rescue unit.
Perhaps most profoundly, Adam's disappearance highlighted the very real need for a land-based search and rescue organization in our community. Realizing this, a group of passionate, dedicated community members are currently in the process of bringing such an organization to fruition. Sadly, none of this will bring Adam back, but hopefully it will help spare another family from the devastating loss of a loved one.
The volunteer group that Ms. Rice speaks of drifted into inactivity in recent years, a situation that has concerned many in the region, as past incidents of overdue hikers, campers or back country enthusiasts have at times required the need to call upon the Terrace based unit for assistance.
Such was the case earlier this year in the Adam Moore search, in fact as the accounts of the time highlighted it was through the work of the Terrace based unit that Mr. Moore's car was discovered off of the Galloway bridge region.
It will be a welcome thing for the community, if indeed the North Coast version of a land based search and rescue group does come back into operation.
The BC NDP caucus posted her speech to the Legislature to their You Tube channel on Wednesday.
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You can also review the MLA's speech to the Legislature from the Video Archive for Wednesday afternoon House session, she makes her remarks at the 31 minute mark of the Video Player counter.
The transcript of her remarks can be found in the Legislature archive page, just below the 1400 mark on the right hand index.
For more items on the developments at the British Columbia Legislature see our Archive page.
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