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The second police officer caught in an avalanche near Kaslo earlier this month has died, says the Nelson Police Department.
Cst. Mathieu Nolet, 28, died of his injuries Saturday morning at Kelowna General Hospital.
Cst. Nolet was caught in an avalanche on Jan. 9 with his colleague Cst. Wade Tittemore, 43, while skiing in a mountain pass about 60 kilometres north of Nelson.
Both men were swept away in the avalanche and Cst. Tittemore died at the scene. Titteemore was posthumously promoted to detective at his funeral.
Cst. Nolet was dug out of the avalanche by four people who had witnessed the slide. He spent about 12 days in the hospital in critical condition.
“It is hard to fully express the sadness we are feeling here,” said Nelson Police chief Donovan Fisher in a news release.
“The memorial for Constable Tittemore was this past week, and now we’ve lost a second officer and friend. It is devastating.”
Cst. Nolet had been working in Nelson for just over a year after serving the Calgary Police Service for one year.
A fundraiser that was launched on Jan. 11, says the two men had bonded over their love of the outdoors and the backcountry. The Nelson Police Department says that was a major reason they both chose Nelson as their home.
“We have one of the smallest municipal police forces in the country,” said mayor Janice Morrison.
“This tragedy has hit us hard; our deepest condolences go out to constable Nolet’s family.”
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