Two RCMP officers in Haiti as part of a UN training mission remain unaccounted for after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the capital Port-au-Prince early Tuesday evening.
The two missing officers have been identified as Supt. Doug Coates, acting commissioner of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (known as MINUSTAH), and Sgt. Mark Gallagher.
Eighty-two Canadian officers from forces across the country are in Haiti as part of the UN mission to train and mentor the national police force.
RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Pat Flood said none of the 80 officers who are confirmed safe sustained injuries in the quake.
"I would expect that they're now involved in the rescue efforts for the time being," Flood told CTV News Channel Wednesday afternoon.
Gallagher's wife, Lisa, told CTV Atlantic that her husband had just returned to Haiti Tuesday after a three-week holiday at their home over Christmas.
She said she last spoke to her husband as he was heading to bed to rest after his flight, about 30 minutes before the earthquake struck. She has not heard from him since.
According to Gallagher, her husband was based at the UN compound in Port-au-Prince and lived in a two-storey apartment building with at least one other RCMP officer.
Gallagher first left for Haiti last July for a nine-month secondment to Haiti, according to Nova Scotia RCMP Sgt. Bridgit Leger.
"Sgt. Gallagher was excited to go to Haiti," Leger told reporters Wednesday. "He always embraces every opportunity to do good. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, he's more than willing to rise to the occasion."
Montreal police confirmed earlier Wednesday that all 42 of the force's officers who are part of the mission are safe. Quebec provincial police also confirmed Wednesday that the force has more than 20 officers attached to the mission, and they are all accounted for.
Three officers with Ottawa police are also safe, CTV News has learned.
RCMP Sgt. Julie Gagnon told News Channel Wednesday morning that there are 13 RCMP officers in Haiti as part of the mission.
According Gagnon, all officers receive extra training before deploying as part of a UN mission, and would likely have been trained to respond to a disaster such as an earthquake.
Since 1993, about 1,000 Canadian police officers have served with UN missions in Haiti, according to the RCMP.
A team of international police officers is currently deployed as part of MINUSTAH, which is assisting the Haitian government to restore public security throughout the country.
