Kelowna first responders pay respects to Nelson police officer killed in avalanche

Photo: Bruce Millward

Kelowna first responders gather to honour fallen Nelson police officer Const. Wade Tittemore as his body is transported through the city Thursday.

Emergency crews gathered briefly in Kelowna Thursday to honour a fallen Nelson police officer as his body was transported through the city.

Const. Wade Tittemore, 43, died off-duty Monday in an avalanche while skiing with a fellow officer outside Kaslo, B.C.

A statement from the Kelowna RCMP Thursday said police officers in B.C. work closely together and local Mounties “feel the loss” of Tittemore.

Police, firefighters and paramedics learned Tittemore’s body would be transported home and chose to pay their respects.

“Emergency vehicles were briefly stopped on the side of the transportation route towards Highway 33 as Constable Tittemore’s body was escorted back to Nelson,” said the RCMP statement.

Photos sent to Castanet show emergency vehicles parked on Springfield Road near Cooper Avenue at roughly 10:30 a.m.

A Nelson Police Department vehicle followed by a minivan and other emergency vehicles, with lights flashing, passed by.

The public is invited to email their condolences for Tittemore’s family at [email protected].

A GoFundMe has been set up to help his family, and the other Nelson officer, Const. Mathieu Nolet, who was hurt in the same avalanche.