By Canadian Press

Quebec coroner calls for prompt access to cell data after 2019 fatal helicopter crash

Mar 31, 2021 | 10:05 AM

MONTREAL — A Quebec coroner is recommending the province adopt legislation allowing authorities to quickly obtain cellphone data in missing persons cases.

The recommendation is in a report released today into the deaths of Quebec businessman Stephane Roy and his teenage son, who died in a July 2019 helicopter crash on their return from a fishing trip.

Roy was the founder and owner of Les Serres Sagami, which produces greenhouse-grown tomatoes under the Savoura brand.

Coroner Denyse Langelier says authorities had trouble securing cellphone data belonging to Roy and his son, from Telus, which delayed efforts to find the missing Robinson R-44 helicopter.

The bodies of Roy and his son were found 14 days after they went missing in a wooded area near Lac Valtrie, Que., about 220 kilometres northwest of Montreal.

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Langelier called for the government to adopt legislation permitting police to quickly obtain telephone communications and information on cellular signals to determine the location of a missing person.

In a separate report today, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said the cause of the crash of the privately owned helicopter was attributed to main rotor blade failure.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2021.

The Canadian Press