Merritt residents say town meeting provided few answers

The City of Merritt held a town hall meeting Thursday morning to answer questions about the weekend killings of three siblings, but many residents were left disappointed following the information session.

Mayor David Laird called the meeting a chance to put the issues to rest and begin moving forward as homicide investigators continue the search for the children's father.

Allan Schoenborn is wanted on suspicion of killing daughter Kaitlynne, 10, and sons Max, 8, and Cordon, 5, on Sunday.

B.C. Solicitor General John van Dongen, senior RCMP members from the Merritt detachment, and city and school officials all spoke at the meeting.

Many residents, like Cathy Mortimer, arrived with pointed questions for the RCMP about their investigation following the discovery of the children's bodies.

"Why wasn't the dog squad brought in right away? Where was the manhunt?" she asked reporters before she entered the town hall.

Staff Sgt. Scott Todd assured the crowd of 300 people that the police response was swift and decisive.

Merritt residents want review of police actions

But city officials said no one was allowed to answer questions at the meeting, and many of the residents left feeling frustrated.

Afterward, van Dongen said the residents' questions will be answered by the coroner's inquest.

But an inquest can only look at how deaths can be prevented. And many people in Merritt want a review of what police did in the first hours after the children's bodies were found.

Meanwhile, Schoenborn's relatives are urging him to surrender to police.
 
Val Truthwaite, Schoenborn's cousin, said his family in Winnipeg hasn't seen the 40-year-old in years, but they are devastated by the situation.

The entire family wants Darcie Clarke, the mother of the three youngsters, to know how sorry they are, Truthwaite said, and the family is trying to raise money to help Clarke deal with costs such as funeral expenses.