It looked like any other missing person’s report from the Queens District RCMP.
Allan Victor Jefferson of Stratford, 48, wearing a black zip up jacket, grey T-shirt, and so on.
Yes, the RCMP were looking for Jefferson and the public was asked to call 911 if they spotted him, possibly somewhere in the Maypoint Road area.
He was located Monday night.
Well, that’s one way to put it. Another, and more accurate way is that he was recaptured Monday night after escaping police custody – a crucial detail the RCMP failed to mention in its communication with the media and the public.
And, the reason that police were looking for him in the Maypoint Road area is that he bolted out the back door of the detachment sometime between being fingerprinted and being transported.
Now back in police custody, Jefferson appeared in Charlottetown provincial court on Wednesday facing two counts of sexual touching, one count of public mischief by falsely reporting a kidnapping and escaping police custody.
This isn’t the type of person you would want to invite into your home to warm up and have a cup of coffee.
But that’s exactly what might have happened if a resident recognized Jefferson as a missing person and felt compelled to help the man.
To be fair, the RCMP didn’t call Jefferson a missing person in the e-mailed press release.
It read: “The assistance of the public is sought if Allan Victor JEFFERSON is seen or contacts you, please call 911 or RCMP Queens District 902 368-9300 immediately.”
It’s easy to interpret that police communication as any other missing person’s report.
And, by failing to mention that crucial detail – that Jefferson was an escaped prisoner – the RCMP put the public in danger.
Let’s be clear. It’s hard to think of another instance where a missing person report was actually a request to help find an escaped prisoner. So, this type of miscommunication doesn’t happen often.
We don’t know why this crucial detail was missing. But this matter needs to be investigated and explained to the public so it doesn’t happen again, or at least that the mistake is corrected as quickly as possible next time and people are informed that the so-called missing person is actually a potentially dangerous escaped prisoner.
And, as far as we know, nothing serious appears to have resulted from this blunder. But that’s not entirely the point.
It’s hard to find any mention on social media of the original report that Jefferson was a missing person.
It’s almost like it never happened.
Well, it did happen. And it isn’t farfetched to image how this misleading report could have had a more serious outcome.
