Port Coquitlam REALTOR® Risa Bassetto was driving home earlier this month when she saw an elderly person on the sidewalk. Gut instinct told her something wasn’t right. She checked the Realty Watch fan-out that was requested by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) earlier in the day and discovered it was the same person.
“It was that fan-out and picture that made me call the police” Risa said. “If there was no fan-out, they could still be missing.”
“Risa was instrumental in finding this elderly person,” said Detective Constable Raymond Payette, Vancouver Police Department (VPD). “She and the Realty Watch program allowed us to find this senior safe.”
Past successes also include:
- A White Rock REALTOR® receiving a police fan-out and realising the elderly woman he had just helped was listed as missing in May 2009.
- The Langley RCMP giving credit to Realty Watch for the swift recovery and return of a missing teenager in July 2006.
The Realty Watch program is a partnership between local police departments, the RCMP and more than 14,000 REALTORS® across the Lower Mainland. The Fraser Valley, Greater Vancouver and Chilliwack and District Boards have administered the program since 1995.
Here are two ways you can help:
- Observe and report to police any suspicious activity that you come across in your day-to-day business.
- When you receive a Realty Watch fan-out from your Board, review the details of the missing person and be on the look out. Contact the police or Crime Stoppers if you see the missing person. Note: Only a local police department or the RCMP can request a Realty Watch fan-out.
For more information about Realty Watch, including a video on how the program was started, go to www.realtywatch.net.