Man Dies in Campground Altercation
Geoff Lowry
Hnausa Provincial Park - A 38-year-old Winnipeg man is dead following an
altercation at a Lake Winnipeg provincial campground early yesterday,
RCMP say.
David Leon DeMare of Kingston Row died in the incident at Hnausa
Provincial Park yesterday morning. One man was in custody, but no
charges had been laid as of last night, said RCMP spokesman Sgt. Steve
Saunders. An autopsy is being performed in Winnipeg this morning to
confirm the cause of death.
Police believe the desceased, upset at loud partying that had been going
on all night at a neighbouring campsite, confronted one man and maybe
others at about 7 a.m. yesterday.
An altercation ensued and escalated. There were no visible signs of
violence, RCMP said.
RCMP only learned of the incident when the detachment in Gimli got a
report of a disturbance in the campground. Officers found the deceased
on the ground at a campsite.
The name of the man in custody has not been released.
Campers arriving at the park, 30 kilometers north of Gimli on Lake
Winnipeg yesterday afternoon were greeted by an RCMP officer at the gate
screening campers.
"They won't tell you anything," said camper Violet Parisien of Stony
Mountain. When she learned that a camper had been killed that morning,
she said it was disturbing.
"I was concerned -- I've got grandchildren here," said the woman, who
arrived that afternoon with most of the other weekenders.
Lorena McKay said her children noted the yellow police tape cordoning
off the campsite and the field beside it where the altercation took place.
"They definitely knew someone got killed," she said.
Word spread quickly through the park about what had taken place, and
that the victim was camping with a young family.
A blue and white pickup truck parked next to a tent, a picnic table and
colourful beach towels blew in the breeze near an overturned lawnchair
as police and forensic investigators examined the scene yesterday.
A woman at the neighbouring campsite refused to comment, saying someone
in her group had been involved in the incident.
Andy and Betty Lubinski, who live in nearby Camp Morton, said they
brought their 31-foot motorhome to Hnausa yesterday afternoon because
it's such a quiet little getaway.
"This place doesn't have a bad reputation," he said.
After hearing about the death, he said he'd think twice about asking a
rowdy camper to be quiet.
The park doesn't have staff on duty 24 hours a day, he said.
Ed Parisien said he's camped at Hnausa for the last four years, and
there have been occasional incidents involving young people drinking and
making noise at the park.
Conservation officers patrol the park fairly regularly, he said.
ONe woman who did not give her name said she wouldn't camp at Hnausa
without a cell phone.
Area residents say Hnausa Provincial Park is a quiet camping facility
that's used mostly by families living the in the Interlake.
One area resident said the campground was almost empty this week and
that few people were aware of the police investigation. It's been
conducted by the Gimli RCMP with assistance from Winnipeg major crime
services, Selkirk major crime unit and Winnipeg RCMP forensic
identification services.
A spokesman for Manitoba Conservation would not release any information
on whether a noise complaint had been made before DeMare died.
Wow! We've actually been to that campground, and except for someone
setting off fireworks when it's prohibited, it was pretty quiet. Not
something you'd expect when going away for a weekend camping trip.
--
Geoff & Kathy
'00 Sonoma
'01 Dutchmen
Winnipeg, Manitoba
http://www3.mb.sympatico.ca/~geoff1/camping.htm
Remove CAPS in e-mail to reply
CRAIG9952
up north.
Course im sure many campers out there can tell stories of this type happening
at private campgrounds also..
SOOOOOOO! what's a camper to do..???
Miles
CRAIG9952 wrote:
Dry camp in the national forest away from everyone. If I feel like
turning the stereo up I do so...nobody around for several miles.
Usually I keep it down anyways because I love the solitude of the
mountains. I very rarely camp in campgrounds. Too crowded, noisy,
people complaining etc. Some of the nicer upscale ones can be fun but
also get expensive.
Cass
Cass
"Geoff Lowry" <geo...@mb.NOsympaticoSPAM.ca> wrote in message
news:yxS1b.53146$Rz6....@news1.mts.net...
DrGyro1
Adirondak campgrounds ahead of the 4th of July weekend and drank and screamed
and yelled all night, then whined and cried when normal campground sounds
disturbed their hangovers. Was the perpetrator from Quebec>
Gears
Camping is to me, supposed to be a quiet getaway, away from noise and city.
It is NOT supposed to be a party place.
Gears
"CRAIG9952" <crai...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030823193111...@mb-m11.aol.com...
al...@gpacable.com
<geo...@mb.NOsympaticoSPAM.ca> wrote:
>An altercation ensued and escalated. There were no visible signs of
>violence, RCMP said.
I guess a dead guy isn't a "visible sign" of violence....
Tom
the old anarchist
400%?
"Gears" <mshep...@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:ma52b.253182$4UE.2...@news01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com...
Geoff Lowry
Manitoba Conservation will review security at provincial parks, a top
official said yesterday after a man died following an altercation at a
provincial campground Friday.
RCMP have charged a 21-year-old man with manslaughter in the death of
David Leon DeMare, 38, of Kingston Row in Winnipeg, who was camping with
children at Hnausa Beach Provincial Park, about 110 kilometers north of
Winnipeg.
Police are not releasing details of the incident until they have results
of an autopsy at Health Sciences Centre.
Sinclair will appear in Winnipeg Court tomorrow.
DeMare's family couldn't be reached for comment yesterday, but issued a
statement last night.
Dave Wotton, assistant deputy minister of Manitoba Conservation, said
the province had already put out a call for proposals for a five-year
comprehensive review of provincial parks.
"We will definitely incorporate security in the review."
Conservation will also work closely with RCMP on a separate detailed
review of exactly what happened in the Hnausa incident, he said.
The department will take action on whatever recommendations come
forward, Wotton said.
RCMP spokesman Steve Saunders said police were called to the Hnausa
campground for a noise complaint that night, but have not determined
whether either DeMare's or the accused's campsite were involved.
Wotton called the tragedy and isolated incident that no one could have
predicted.
"It's a very quiet location generally."
Campgrounds closer to cities and with more campsites are patrolled more
frequently than smaller campgrounds like Hnausa, Wotton said.
At Birds Hill Park, staff patrol the campground until 4 a.m. and return
at 7 a.m.
Most campgrounds have posted phone numbers that people can call if they
are having trouble with rowdy neighbours, Wotton said.
"We would never encourage anyone to confront a noisy party."
Campers are often evicted for being rowdy, he said. Campround rules
normally ban loud noise after 11 p.m.
Wotton said human behaviour is unpredictable and Manitobans can just as
easily find themselves dealing with altercations in traffic or at a mall.
Families at Birds Hill Park yesterday said campers at the well-patrolled
park are fairly quiet.
Judy Friesen of Winkler said someone's music kept her awake at 3 a.m.
last weekend at St. Malo Provnicial Park, but she things it might have
been coming form outside the park.
Her neighbour Audrey Dyck said years ago before the rules changed there
used to be more problems. "There's not as much drinking."
All provincial campgrounds are now alchohol-free on the Victoria Day
weekend.
Jim Malenchak, interviewed at Birds Hill yesterday, said his family had
one bad incident in Minnedosa in 10 years of camping. Not wanting to
cause trouble "we just sort of ignored it," he said about the noisy
neighbours who stole his food.
Charged is Ryan Kelly Sinclair, 21, of Hodgson.
---------------------
Also on the page is something about the victim:
David was loved and will be sadly missed by his wife, five children and
large extended family.
This was an unnecessary tragedy.
It is our hope and prayer that never again will anyone, going on a
simple family vacation in a Manitoba provincial park, experience such
fear, helplessness and loss.
David's wife and children will serve a life sentence without their
loving husband and father. A loving family watched helplessly as husband
and father was killed before their very eyes. This horrific, senseless
violence and tragic loss is a deep scar they will live with forever.
How could a wonderful family holiday end in such tragedy?
David is gone but not forgotten.
Tom Shaw
have prevented UNLESS they were driving by at the time...an unlikely
happening. So now the authorities have the momentum to create a bigger
organization for "prevent" such crimes. I wish people would understand that
the police can only capture a criminal and the lawyers can only put him/her
in jail...ALL LONG AFTER THE CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED. That is why it is up
to the citizen to protect himself...if the damn government and the anti-gun
nuts will let him.
TSnews:9hd2b.54973$Rz6....@news1.mts.net...
bob
guns on each other and the kids sleeping 3 campgrounds over get caught in
the crossfire.
Guns for everyone..... Heck give 'em all nukes too !
Nice !
"Tom Shaw" <a000...@airmail.net> wrote in message
news:bideov$l...@library2.airnews.net...
Cass
That retort is just stupid. One could just as easily make the same argument
that the killer could have not stopped at killing just one and gone ahead to
kill the whole campground.
Take the responsibility and have the good-sense to look out for yourself and
your family. Keep a gun.
Cass
"bob" <no...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:1061833000.273619@sj-nntpcache-3...
Tom Shaw
you will enjoy the revenge that the police exact for your goddam murder you
damn simpleton.
TS
Cass
My! Aren't we emotional. It seems that I have struck a nerve. Here, you
have me committing murder.
Actually, I am very glad that you made the post to me below because it shows
the low-intelligence and idiotic thinking of those who won't lift a finger
to ensure their safety or that of their families.
To be out in the woods or even in your own home and leave yourself at the
mercy of some murderer or rapist, is just the type of thinking that ensures
the murderer or rapist to chalk up another victim.
Shaw, you and I won't solve this problem. With you, it is an emotional
problem. With me, it is common sense.
There will always be folks such as yourself who will whine and cry and rant
and rave against guns UNTIL, yes, UNTIL the day that their kid's throat is
slashed where the picture of tendons, bone, veins, raw meat and bubbles of
congealed blood and their anus is bruised and bleeding from being ripped
open, is burned into your mind. Then, you will come to your senses and
realize that you and you alone are responsible for your and your family's
protection.
Not sorry for the graphic word picture.
Cass
"Tom Shaw" <a000...@airmail.net> wrote in message
news:bidjo4$9...@library2.airnews.net...
the old anarchist
"Cass" <NOT__ROADWEARY__S...@galaxycorp.com> >
CRAIG9952
So what you are saying is.. You are out camping with your family and at 2am
you hear about 12 people at the other campsight with boombox going full blast.
You get your trusty 357 magnum and go over to the other campsight and tell
them that if they don't quite down you'll blow their brains out.
i think the guy would have been better off with a cell phone and just call
the police.
Cass
Are you really this stupid?
Aren't you really saying that you prostitute your wife and kids and molest
the neighborhood children?
Since you said that, how much does your wife charge?
Cass
"CRAIG9952" <crai...@aol.com> wrote in message
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Cass
Cass
"the old anarchist" <shawves...@comcast.net> wrote in message
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Cass
When you want to know how I got all of that by what you posted, just ask. I
will be more than glad to answer you, if you have the guts. You don't!
Cass
"Cass" <NOT__ROADWEARY__S...@galaxycorp.com> wrote in message
news:bieq1e$3uf$0...@pita.alt.net...
Tony Wesley
From the Winnepeg Sun, 8/27
http://www.canoe.ca/WinnipegNews/ws.ws-08-27-0002.html
Accused is a 'hero'
Teen claims man broke up attack
By CARY CASTAGNA, Police Reporter
A 14-year-old girl says the accused killer in last week's campground
slaying should be hailed a hero.
Alyshia Sinclair told The Sun yesterday she was being attacked by
David Leon DeMare on that fateful morning when Ryan Kelly Sinclair
came to her rescue.
DeMare, 38, died of blunt force trauma in the fatal encounter, while
Ryan, 21, was arrested and later charged with manslaughter.
"I think he was a hero," Alyshia said of Ryan, an acquaintance who
isn't related to her. "That's all he was doing -- he was just trying
to protect me." Alyshia, who had been camping with her family at
Hnausa Provincial Park, said she was walking past DeMare's campsite on
her way to the washroom shortly before 7 a.m. Friday, when DeMare
yelled at her for no apparent reason.
"Just out of the blue he said, 'Shut up you dirty Indian!'" Alyshia
recalled. "I said, 'What did you say that for?' and he said, 'Shut up
you big whore!'" DeMare started swinging around a black metal bar --
which was about nine feet long -- like he was doing martial arts
moves, Alyshia said.
DeMare then put the bar down, approached Alyshia and hit her, she
said. "He punched me right on the lip. I fell down and that's when he
was trying to punch me some more," Alyshia recalled.
Lana Sinclair, who was sleeping in a nearby tent, said she awoke to
hear her daughter's cries for help and went running to DeMare's
campsite, where she saw DeMare on top of Alyshia, punching her.
"Then my mom was yelling 'Stop, that's my daughter!' " Alyshia said.
"My mom couldn't get him to stop hurting me. Next thing you know, Ryan
came running over there to help us."
Ryan and DeMare exchanged two punches each, before DeMare fell to the
ground, Alyshia recalled.
Several people tried unsuccessfully to revive DeMare. He was
pronounced dead about 7 a.m.
Alyshia, who suffered facial bruises and scrapes, believes she
would've been killed had Ryan not come to her aid.
"I was thinking to myself, if Ryan didn't protect me and my mom, that
would've been me," she said.
Alyshia, a student at Charles Sinclair School on the Fisher River
First Nation, alleged it wasn't the first time she had seen DeMare.
The weekend before, Alyshia and a friend were sitting in a trailer
when she allegedly noticed DeMare peeking through the window.
"I think he was trying to watch us," she said.
Alyshia said she warned DeMare she would call police if he continued
his peeping-tom antics. He left and she didn't see him again until
Friday. Just prior to DeMare's encounter with Alyshia on Friday,
DeMare had confronted campers Calvin Asham and Charmaine Cochrane.
Cochrane said DeMare was swinging the same black bar when he wandered
onto their campsite.
"He said he was going to be back in half an hour," Cochrane said. "I
don't know what he meant by that."
Minutes after DeMare left, Cochrane and Asham would hear Lana
Sinclair's calls for help. Cochrane said when she got to DeMare's
campsite, DeMare was already lying on the ground.
RCMP aren't releasing any details on the case.
A source told The Sun yesterday that Ryan punched DeMare three times
in the head in self-defence.
Ryan was struck on the left ankle with the black bar swung by DeMare.
"This is not your typical campground dustup," said defence lawyer Greg
Brodsky. "My client called police."
A source also said DeMare showed up at Ryan's campsite earlier looking
for beer and DeMare is alleged to have said he didn't want a "bunch of
f'n savages" camping next to his family.
Despite a court order banning contact -- except for supervised visits
with his children -- DeMare was camping with his family.
Last August, his wife Daniella Marie DeMare -- who is expecting the
couple's fifth child -- obtained her second protection order against
her husband who was to appear in court tomorrow on two counts of
breaching a court order and one count of breaching probation.
Tom Shaw
rapacious dirty bastards trying to get famous.
TS
"Tony Wesley" <to...@tonywesley.com> wrote in message
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