Woman dies of possible hypothermia while heading to cross border into Canada

The police said they believe Otuteye had been heading to Emerson, which is just across the border from Noyes.

Though the two communities are very close together, Janzen said it had been cold and rainy that night, and there were two other weather-related medical calls involving border crossings on the weekend. He said those who travel in the middle of the night can also become disoriented, and the area is sparsely populated.

There has been a spike in asylum seekers since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, with the most recent RCMP figures showing 859 people were stopped between official border points in April.

For the year so far, there have been 1,993 interceptions in Quebec, 477 in Manitoba and 233 in British Columbia.

Janzen has long been a critic of the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, under which people who have made refugee claims first in the U.S. are turned back at official Canadian entry points.

However, it does not apply to people who get onto Canadian soil first, resulting in many crossing fields and ditches and avoiding the official border posts.

Those asylum seekers are allowed to follow normal refugee-claim procedures and are usually released and cared for by a non-profit agency until their case is heard.

“Until they close this loophole, this is going to keep happening,” Janzen said of the agreement. “What scares me is next winter again.

“We’re still getting women and children. What’s going to happen to the children? One of these times the kids aren’t going to make it.”

He said he also fears for the safety of his community.

“So far our residents haven’t been assaulted, but that’s going to happen yet, too.”

Otuteye’s case is currently under investigation by the Kittson County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Woman dies of possible hypothermia while heading to cross border into Canada

Our Community