Larry Burden’s This Day In The RCMP

 

The achievements and contributions of the Force have been built upon the individual contributions of many past Veterans. These contributions have largely been forgotten.

Veteran Sgt. Larry Burden ( #35982), who served  in “E” Division for 20 years, has spent over ten years researching and summarizing these achievements by specific date.  Nearly every day, Larry sends out an email message with a selection from his work in progress manuscript “This Day In The RCMP” to individuals interested in these historical notes.

In an effort to share his research to a large group, Larry has agreed to permit us to develop a webpage on our website. Each webpage will post Larry’s historical notations over the past week.

If you wish to contact Larry Burden or provide additional information about his research, please email him at larryburden8@gmail.com.


December 28th

1943– Honour Roll Numbers 76,77,78,79.

Constables #13064Terence Graham Newcomen Watts HR76, #12856 Edison Alexander Cameron, #13157 David Charles Gardner and #12965 Gordon Bondurant were killed in action near Ortona, Italy, while serving with No 1 Provost Company in Italy.

1966– Commendations were issued to #15036 Corporal Wilf Reinbold and #24344 Constable Robert Swann for the arrest of Fritz Riederer who, still armed with his weapon, had just shot his wife, in St Albert, Alberta.

1970– Police capture the suspect FLQ terrorists, kidnappers and murderers of Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. Paul Rose, his brother Jacques Rose, and Francis were captured at 04:30 a.m. in a tunnel under the farmhouse near Montreal where they had been hiding out.

1988– Commanding Officers Commendations were earned by Constables #31076 W.J. Bussey, #36167 E.P. VanOuwerkerk and #38712 J.G.D. Leydier for disarming a mentally disturbed man at Stettler, Alberta.

 December 27th

1901 – The first annual winter patrol between Dawson and Fort McPherson was undertaken. #2628 Sgt. Harry Mapley and a guide on dog sled carried the mail over the Mackenzie Mountains and arrived at Fort McPherson on February 2, 1902.

They traveled a distance of 475 miles and enduring bone chilling temperatures of over 50 degrees below zero. The patrols became an annual event and continued for many years.

1969 – Constables # 24696 John K. Paterson and #27387 Richard Lawrence responded to a complaint in North Vancouver BC where an intoxicated man had threatened his wife with a gun. Unknown to the policemen the man had also blown a hole in the wall with a shotgun. After positioning junior Constable Paterson to the side of the house Constable Lawrence approached the front with his revolver drawn. When he knocked the man opened the door to the house and carrying the shotgun in one hand pointed a loaded revolver with his other hand at the chest of Constable Lawrence. Constable Paterson then raised his handgun and ordered the man to drop his weapons. After he hesitated, Patterson then pulled back the hammer on his revolver and repeated his order. Realizing the young policeman was prepared to shoot him the gunman he dropped his weapons and surrendered. In recognition of his coolness and presence of mind Constable Paterson was awarded a Commanding Officers Commendation.

1980– The detachment at Old Crow, Yukon caught fire as a result of a faulty hot water heater. #26320 Corporal Don G. Pittendreigh and Constable #34655 Mike S. Statnyk did their best to fight the blaze with fire extinguishers. With the help of local residents, they managed to confine the blaze to the furnace room thereby saving the rest of the detachment.

1985– Honour Roll 183

#37421 Constable Joseph Eddy Mario Tessier was shot and killed near Gatineau, Quebec.

While driving to work in Ottawa from his home in Angers, Quebec dressed in civilian clothing; constable Tessier stopped at a minor motor vehicle and picked up the driver Andre L’Heureux to drive him to a garage. While enroute, L’Heureux pulled out sawed-off .22 and shot Tessier nine times.  After the murder, he dragged the body out of the car and continued on to Gatineau and robbed store.  He was later arrested and pleaded guilty and was sentenced to sentenced to life in prison.

Mario Tessier was born in Joliette Quebec and joined the Force on December 21stand posted to British Colombia (‘E” Division) until he transferred to the nation’s capital.

1993– Constables #32487 / O.1712Pierre-Yves Bourduas, #32996 Tom Spink and #38116 J.G. Richard earned commendations after they entered a burning house in Kings County New Brunswick to subdue a mentally disturbed person who had barricaded himself in the burning building.

December 26th

1901– While on patrol from northern British Columbia three constables were paddling their canoe down the Stikine River in Alaska. The canoe was loaded with all of their personal gear and their sled dog. While attempting to paddle the river the boat was swamped, and everyone went into the river

Constables #2972 Norman Malcolm Campbell and #3463 Spencer Gilbert Heathcote drowned while #3617 constable Michael J. Fitzgerald escape the raging river to live on.

Norman Campbell was from Brandon Manitoba and had joined the Force seven years earlier. His body was never recovered.

30-year old Spencer Heathcote joined the Mounted Police on January 1, 1900. Originally from England he was raised in Toronto. His body was found five months later, and he was interred in the village of Wrangle, Alaska.

Ironically, Cst. Mike Fitzgerald (Honour Roll 40) the only one to survive continued to serve in the Mounted police for another 12 years until he was killed while working a dragline on a steamer on the White River when he was hit in the head with a sweep handle and knocked overboard. The crew succeed in retrieving his body from the river, but he never regained consciousness and died from a fractured skull. The 37-year old son of Nova Scotia was buried in the cemetery in Dawson City, Yukon.

1980 – Winter rainstorms on coastal British Columbia can cause rivers to rage and overflow. After several days of rain, the Cheakamus River at Squamish spilled over its banks threatening the Geue family home.  #32558 Constable Martin A. Thompson attempted to drive through the floodwaters to rescue the family but was unable to reach them, so he called for a military Search and Rescue helicopter to assist. When the helicopter arrived Constable, Thompson went aboard the helicopter and flying in dangerous winds located the partially submerged house and assisted the crew in rescuing six people from the home. In recognition of his quick thinking and courage he was awarded the Commissioners Commendation for bravery.

December 25th

1874 – #247 Sub Constables Frank Baxter and #228 Thomas D. Wilson were granted leave for Christmas and were traveling by horseback back to Fort MacLeod from Fort Kipp. Both men had celebrated the season in style and had consumed their share of beverages were on their way back to their post when they were caught in a sudden blizzard and the temperature dropped. The severely frost-bitten men struggled on and in hopes of finding shelter but did not make it. A search party found them and transported them to the hospital at Fort MacLeod, but they died on New Year’s Day and were buried at Fort MacLeod.

1906– #4205 Constable Charles Hayter was charged in Orderly Room because shot the barrack room clock at Battleford Detachment.  He was fined $10 and ordered to pay for new clock.  When asked for explanation of his actions, is alleged to have said “just killing time, Sir.”

Hayter served from 1904 to 1912 retiring as a Sergeant.

1934 – #10711 Constable Alexander Unia lost all his effects in detachment fire at Forty Mile, Yukon.

1935– #12745 Constable Paul Dessureau won the 30th Annual Calgary Road Race completing of 6.147 mile run in a time of 35 minutes, 57 seconds.

1997 – #42007 Constable Gerald Fortis of the Sumas Highway Patrol was on duty in Chilliwack, BC and had arranged to travel home to begin his break so he could watch his three young children open their presents. En-route in his patrol car, he encountered a patch of black ice and skidded off the highway and smashed into a cement barrier. His seat belt and the airbag were not enough to protect him because of the angle of the impact. He died from multiple injuries. His Funeral in Chilliwack was one of the largest the town had ever seen.

He survived by his wife and 3 children. Sadly, he is not on the Honour Roll!

December 24th

1874– On this day #56 (Original Series) later #41 (New Series) Staff Constable John Alfred Martin) a member of the “March west” was one of the men moved into the newly constructed Fort MacLeod. He and the other men built the fort out of cottonwood logs on a small island in Old Man’s River. The thing about Martin was that he hid a secret from the Force and his son. Married men could not join the Force (unless they were officers) so he signed up using his mother’s maiden name and denied being married. His real name was John Alfred MacIntosh and his own son didn’t know the truth. The boy went his grave thinking that his father was his uncle! Martin/ MacIntosh served in the NWMP from 1873 to 1898.

1963– After receiving a report that an Eskimo at Alfred Point on Baffin Island, NWT had been accidentally shot in the leg, #17873 Corporal Robert S. Pilot prepared himself for the 60-mile trip by dog sled. Then the weather closed in and he had to spend two impatient days waiting out the storm. Finally, the weather cleared, and Pilot made the twelve-hour trip to investigate and provide first aid to the wounded man. He found his patient in a weakened state suffering in great pain from the bullet wound to his left buttock. Corporal Pilot then opened, cleansed, and drained a cupful of puss from the wound. After applying clean dressings and administering antibiotics he continued to care for his patient, watching over him and changing the dressings twice a day. Fearing that gangrene would set in, he sent a messenger by dog sled to Pond Inlet to relay a message by radio to Frobisher Bay requesting an airlift for his patient.

While they waited for an aircraft, Corporal Pilot organized several men from the camp to construct a landing strip on the pack ice. They marked out the runway with homemade flares made from gasoline-soaked rags in tin cans and lit them in the dark so the plane could land safely. When the aircraft arrived on December 30th,they loaded him and his patient and then flew to the hospital.

A month later Corporal Pilot was called on again to assist a pregnant Eskimo woman who hemorrhaging. After traveling eight miles on a borrowed snowmobile he discovered that the patient who was six months pregnant had lost nearly forty ounces of blood and he could not stop the bleeding. Following instructions from a US Air Force doctor in Thule Greenland over a short-wave radio, Corporal Pilot helped deliver a dead premature deformed fetus and then care for his patient until she could be airlifted to the hospital. Alfred Pilot never received any formal recognition for saving either life; it was just a routine part of the job.

1974 – At 6:30 am Alan Thurbon phoned the detachment in Fort Nelson BC and stated that he had just shot a man at his motel room. #18432 Sergeant Vincent J. Hollingsworth and Constable #29733 R. Alan C. Jones rushed to the scene and when they knocked on the door of Room 11, they heard three shots fired from room 12 at an unoccupied vehicle in the parking lot. Sergeant Hollingsworth then provided cover for Constable Jones as he rushed to move their police car out of the line of fire and radio for backup. When Hollingsworth entered room 11, he found one man dead and two women, one of whom had a bullet wound to her leg. Then Constable Jones and #26327 Joseph Schalk rushed into the room with a stretcher and carried the wounded woman out to safety and returned for the uninjured wife of the assailant. After the women, had been removed the members at the scene they fired a tear gas grenade into the gunman’s room and shortly thereafter he surrendered. A search of the room resulted in the seizure of a 7mm Husqvarna rifle and 18 empty shell casings. Alan Thurbon was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Sergeant Hollingsworth and Constable Jones were awarded the Commissioners Commendations for courage and presence of mind and Constable Schalk received a Commanding Officers Commendation for bravery.

1977– Constable #29852 D.L. West earned a Commanding Officers Commendation for bravery for his arrest of a gunman who went on a shooting spree in the community of Moose Lake Manitoba.

1998- On this day retired World War II Provost Corps veterans #10980 Sergeant George Cutting (served 1931 to 1958), #12888 Staff Sergeant Jack Phillips (served 1937 to 1963) and #13901 Sergeant “Pick” Ivan Pickerill (served 1938 to 1967) along with 25 other Canadian war veterans who served at the Battle of Ortona, Italy sat down for a reconciliation Christmas dinner with German war veterans.

Fifty-five years earlier the Canadians ate their Christmas dinner in shifts in the bombed-out Santa Maria di Constantinopoli church on Christmas Eve 1943. The battle of Ortona was one of the hardest fought and bloodiest battles of the war to liberate Europe.

Doreen Riedel the daughter of Supt. Henry Larsen of the St. Roch, sent me this heart warming story about Christmas in the Arctic in 1935 and I thought I would share it with you.

Christmas Greetings and Best wishes for the New Year 

A few weeks ago I was looking through some of my Dad’s memoirs for information related to Radio contact with St Roch and came across this Christmas related story which we thought you might enjoy .
It was a description of  Christmas celebration at  Cambridge Bay 1935. 
 
In those days, Inuit would come  from near and far to  trade and exchange news and gossip, and join in the fun and feast provided for them by the various white establishments.. The Inuit  not having had any Christmas festivities or celebrations of their own before that time, by 1935  looked forward to it every year with great expectations. 
It was the first time that the St Roch had wintered there and it was arranged that they should join in a common effort with the two traders and make preparations.  A Santa Claus had not made his appearance here before. Mrs Paisley, the wife of one trader, sewed a huge red garment complete with Tuque, while Frank Willard (crew member) and  Doreen’s father (Henry Larsen) ,  unraveled a piece of new manila rope for a handsome mustache.and whiskers. Presents were gathered together from the traders, from Rokeby-Thomas (the Anglican minister) and the St Roch stores  in order to get some little thing for every one large and small: Gifts items such as candies or gum for the kids, sewing needles, fish hooks, bars of soap, a few cigarettes, files (always in great demand),  perhaps even a good pocket knife or a box of ammunition for a favorite  hunter, were collected from the few Qallunaaq residents of the settlement.The Eskimos did not expect much in those days, but delighted in any little thing they would receive.
 
Doreen’s father wrote: 
 
     “By Christmas Eve there were at least 250 or 300 Eskimos gathered, counting big and small, and at least 600 dogs. The shores in front of the two trading posts had been converted into a little city of snow houses, beautifully built and arranged for the occasion by the Eskimo men, who went into the project heart and soul, as did their wives, all decked out now in their best clothes for the various visits to take place. I have found that the Eskimos like to display a good deal more showmanship than they are generally given credit for. The Eskimos had been told to look for Santa arriving from the sky around 9 p. m. but not by reindeer.
    It was clear all day and the thermometer indicated thirty-five below. In the afternoon Tommy Welsh  broadcast a program over the ship’s station to residents in the western Arctic. Luckily R.C.M.P  Head quarters  in Ottawa were out of range.  [for concern about misuse of supplies ?]
    By nine o’clock that night most of the natives had been waiting  patiently outside of their igloos for at least an hour having been warned to stay away from the ship until Santa Claus arrived. But where was he? They were eager to see him come scooting across the skies. The death-like stillness of the cold Arctic night was only broken by the occasional yelp of a husky or the abrupt tang of cracking ice and all the Eskimos were outside their igloos, searching the skies for the stranger who was to arrive bearing gifts for their children. Even the dogs sensed something was up and held their tongues for the moment. No one had ever seen Santa Claus, some had heard of him and the police, who never lied, said he would come. They were prepared for anything to happen. Suddenly there was a   great  noise and before Eskimo or dog had time to comprehend, there was what seemed to be a terrific explosion high in the air and the bay was flooded with a brilliant white light which broke into hundreds of little stars as half dozen of our signal rockets shot into the starlit sky, one after the other in quick succession.
   Every Eskimo and dog froze where they stood. The lights slowly faded away. Some dogs yelped. A few Eskimos sighed in relief, too scared to make a move, still trying to adjust themselves
to the sight they had seen or heard.  W000shhh, crash went another one of these unearthly visitations and then that ghost-like light. That was it.  Some women headed for shelter with their small children, but most of the Eskimos were still outside, too scared to do anything else, when Santa Claus in his Red garments, well padded front and back and with the flowing beard started across the ice, escorted by flaming blue and red signal flares, carried by the boys [St ROch crew] on long poles held high in the air. Here was Santa Claus at last and heading for the Hudson’s Bay Co. Post, there to be greeted by Frank and Alice Milne, who assured the Eskimos that Santa Claus was indeed a friendly person and had come to greet them and to distribute presents. A mailbag,  filled beforehand, was ready as the crowd was ushered into the roomy H.B.Co warehouse to be ready for Santa Claus. This drew the adults forth from security but children were unimpressed with the white-man’s talk or promises. All it took  was the sight of Santa Claus built on the most generous proportions with a beard of a size to match and a color they had never seen before,  and a howl went up as they clung to their mothers. I was accompanied by Johnny Cheetham , who had completely blackened his face and was decked out in a fancy  dressing robe, and was carrying   the bag of presents for me as I went from one to the next, shaking hands with all and giving each one a present. The candy soon enticed   the children to come forward and forget their fears. The  very small ones, still on their mothers back for warmth and comfort, extended their grubby little hands out through the parka hood to shake hands with Santa Claus and receive a present. I tried to greet every one of the men and women somehow, but was hesitant  to say too much as they would soon recognize my voice. Some of the older men and women peered intently into my face, perhaps recognizing my eyes, whilst old Kitapko put his hand on my huge padded belly, wondering if it was real. The whole thing was a great success. All the Eskimos became Santa Claus fans from then on.”

December 23rd

1971– Retired Staff Sergeant #14049 John William “Jack” Duggan happened to be in the Hornby Street Branch of the Royal Bank in Vancouver when he saw two armed men enter the building. After the robbers, had grabbed their loot and were preparing to make their exit, the men looked back at the bank manager who had produced a revolver. Duggan then used the diversion to rush the pair and tackled one man who was armed with a handgun and after sending him flying across the room grabbed the rifle from the second gunman and aimed it at the first who dropped his revolver and surrendered. As Duggan rushed into the fray, he heard a pop and later learned that the manager had fired his gun at them but fortunately missed. After apprehending the robbers, he ordered them into the managers’ office and held them at gunpoint until the City Police arrived. For his actions in apprehending the robbers Jack Duggan was awarded a Certificate of Merit from the Vancouver Board of Police Commissioners. Duggan had a varied career during his 29 years with the RCMP serving in several locals and assignments. During his service with the Force he even played football with the Ottawa Roughriders of the Canadian Football League in the 1940’s.

1971– The Royal Canadian Humane Association Bronze Medal is awarded to #21343 William Nichol for the rescue of a seven-month-old child from burning motel unit, in Perth, N.B.

1989– While working at the small community of Wrigley, Northwest Territory a satellite of Fort Simpson Detachment, #34924 Constable James E.R. Cook was confronted by an intoxicated man who threatened to kill him with an axe. Constable Cook succeeded in overpowering the man and arrested him. The man was subsequently charged with attempted murder along with several other criminal offences. For his bravery and professionalism Constable Cook was awarded the RCMP’s highest award, the Commissioners Commendation.

December 22nd

1967-“There’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.” Federal Justice minister and future Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau introduced a controversial Omnibus bill in the House of Commons. The bill calls for massive changes to the Criminal Code of Canada. In a media scrum Trudeau makes his famous statement and follows it up with “what’s done in private between adults doesn’t concern the Criminal Code.” In addition to decriminalizing or legalizing issues such as abortion, homosexuality and divorce law. The bill also calls for the legalization of lotteries, new gun ownership restrictions and the right for the police to perform Breathalyzer tests on suspected drunk drivers.

1973 – Author Pierre Berton is quoted in Canadian Magazine as saying; ‘A Canadian is somebody who knows how to make love in a canoe.’ Many Canadians thought that his Father Frank was a member of the Mounted Police. He was not but he was a very interesting man in his own right.

2003 – Commendation to #47571 Constable Brent Elwood who stood in creek for one hour assisting an elderly man who and fallen into the water while hiking along Lynn Creek, North Vancouver. The man was suffering hypothermia and was at risk of being swept away. His actions ensured the man’s safety until the Fire Department Rescue Team could remove him.

December 21st

1910– #2218/ O.156 Inspector Francis J. Fitzgerald, and constables #2127 Sam Carter, #4582 George F. Kinney and #4346 Richard O. Taylor leave Fort McPherson on the infamous “Lost Patrol” in which all four men perish.

See February 14, 1911

1984– Corporal #24818 Larry P. Bauer and Constable #33630 Byron F. Hodgkin were awarded the St John Meritorious Certificates for using CPR to save the life of a prisoner who tried to hang himself in Kamloops Detachment cells.

2001– Honour Roll Number 197.

52-year-old #40120 Constable Dennis Douglas Strongquill was murdered in Russell Manitoba, by three-armed robbery suspects.

It was a cold quite night in the Russell Manitoba area where Constables Dennis Strongquilland #40759 Brian Augerwere patrolling. Both constables were from the newly formed all native detachment at Waywayseecappo Reserve located 210 miles northwest of the City of Winnipeg and twenty miles from the town of Russell.

Like most cold clear winter nights on the prairies there wasn’t much happening and the constables decided to headed out onto the highway to look for highway offences but found very little traffic. Around 12:30 am the pair observed a pickup truck with three occupants turn onto Highway 45 without stopping at the stop sign and failed to dim their headlights as they sped past the police car.

As Constable Auger turned his vehicle around neither constable knew that the occupants of the truck were armed and dangerous criminals from Edmonton Alberta, and that two of them were wanted on a nationwide warrant. The trio had been on a ten-day crime spree of break and enters of vacant homes, they had stolen several vehicles that they had changed over to avoid detection and had committed a bank robbery in Thorhild Alberta. In the multiple break and enters they had acquired numerous guns along with a large quantity of ammunition and they had no intention of being arrested on their route to Nova Scotia.

After a mile of pursuing the Chevrolet Silverado, it suddenly pulled over to the side of the road and while Cst. Stronquill was exiting the police car, one of the fugitives, Robert Sand got out of the passenger side of truck and started towards the police car armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and fired four rounds of pellets at the front of the car.

Dennis Strongquill jumped back into the car and Brian Auger slammed the car into reverse and raced backwards and spun the car around and drove off in the opposite direction. As they sped away they radioed the communication center in Winnipeg and advised them what had happened and that they were making their way to the RCMP Detachment in Russell.

In normal circumstances the shooters would have sped away and would try and put as much distance from the police as they could. But these were not normal criminals. Instead they turned their vehicle and pursued the police car and when they got closer they continued to shoot at them and succeeded in shooting out the back window of the police car. When Cst. Strongquill attempted to shoot back with his 9mm pistol the magazine fell out of the bottom of the handgun.

The RCMP had recently upgraded their weapons from a 38-cal. revolver to a 9mm pistol. Unfortunately, the weapon that was chosen only came in a right-handed model. Dennis Stronquill’s death may have been averted if he, a left-handed shooter been provided with a more appropriate handgun. The reason the magazine fell out of the gun is because the magazine release was activated when it was pulled out of his left-handed holster. Since then, all left-handed members of the Force have had their pistols modified to move the magazine release to the opposite side.

As the pursuit raced along at speed of 140 kilometers per hour (87 MPH) Cst. Stronquill attempted to recover his magazine from the floor and when they reached the town of Russell and the Detachment, Cst. Auger couldn’t make the turn in to the entrance of the detachment because his car slid sideways on the snow- and ice-covered road. He then attempted to drive the car through the snow-covered ditch and onto the parking lot, but they were hampered by tress on the lawn and came to a stop. Then Danny Sand the driver of the Silverado, rammed the police car from behind and then continued to slam the passenger side of the car until it came to a full stop, trapping Cst. Stronquill inside the car.

While they were being slammed Cst. Auger managed to get the driver’s door open and subsequently was thrown from the vehicle. Dennis Strongquill struggled to climb over the patrol computer to crawl out the open driver’s door, but he never made it.

As soon as the suspect vehicle came to a stop, Robert Sand rushed around the Silverado while the third criminal, 20-year-old Laurie Bell, girlfriend of Danny Sand, yelled repeatedly, “Kill him, Kill him”. Robert Sand then fired four rounds from his sawed off shot gun through the passenger side window into Cst. Strongquill killing him. While Roberts Sand was blasting away at his victim, Cst. Auger fired 13 rounds into the cab of the Silverado striking the driver twice in the neck. Robert jumped back into the passenger seat and the trio sped away.

Immediately the police in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan went into high alert and roadblocks were setup around the area and general broadcasts were sent out to the public over radio and television. After breaking into another farmhouse the trio stole another truck and proceeded on to Wolseley Saskatchewan, 60-miles east of Regina and obtained a hotel room. The hotel clerk having seen the news broadcast got suspicious and called the RCMP.

Within minutes, Mounties from several area detachments surrounded the scene and began evacuating homes and business near the hotel. Not long after the thirteen-member Emergency Response Team (ERT) from Regina headed by #37494 Sergeant Robert Bazin were on the scene. Around 1:00 Robert Sand looked out the window and saw several police cars and then kicked out the back window of their room and the trio climbed out. Robert ordered his still bleeding brother to climb up on the roof so he could have a better look at their situation. When Sand was observed aiming his rifle and ERT members a volley of shots was fired at him and the order was given the snipers to shoot. Sniper #36465 Constable Al M. Lukasewich had Danny Sand in his sights and shot him in the head killing him instantly. Shortly afterward Laurie Bell and Robert Sand dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Dennis Douglas Strongquill had twenty years’ service in the RCMP. He left behind six children. After a 48-hour vigil held by the native community, he was buried in Powerview Saskatchewan with over 350 police officers in attendance.

Robert Sand was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. Laurie Bell received a ten-year sentence for manslaughter.

In 2002 the town of Barrows, Manitoba dedicated the Dennis Strongquill Memorial Park in his memory and in 2016 the Province of Manitoba name a lake 45 kilometers north of Flin Flon, Stronquill after Dennis.