Defence teams are maintaining the 10-day ordeal that resulted in the death of Marie-Josee Fortin last winter near Kicking Horse was the fault of Fortin and her husband, Gilles Blackburn...

Statements of defence were submitted last week in the BC Supreme Court in the Blackburn case, The Globe & Mail is reporting. Blackburn and his wife were lost for 10 days last winter in the BC Interior after skiing out of the boundary marks at Kicking Horse Resort near Golden, BC. Fortin froze to death in the backcountry waiting for rescue, which took more than a week despite spotted SOS signs. In a resulting lawsuit, Blackburn has named search-and-rescue, the ski resort and other authorities for negligence.

In defence statements, the RCMP is maintaining the decision not to respond to the SOS signs was correct. As defence it is stating that the couple had not been reported missing, there were no vehicles left abandoned in the parking lot, and the SOS signs were thought to be old.

According to the Globe, the statement also points a finger back to Blackburn and his wife, suggesting their own negligence in skiing beyond the ski area’s boundaries contributed to the tragedy.

For the full Globe story search for: QUEBEC COUPLE TO BLAME FOR SKIING DEATH, AUTHORITIES SAY, at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Photo: kicking horse resort