Search continues for man in Meat Cove
MEAT COVE — After a second day of unsuccessfully apprehending a Bay St. Lawrence man who fled into woods with a gun, RCMP say they have no plans to leave empty-handed.
Perry Daniel MacKinnon, 34, fled from a house in Meat Cove, Inverness County, early Monday afternoon, as RCMP arrived to arrest him in conjunction with multiple warrants.
“Members of the RCMP are not planning on leaving the area of Meat Cove without Mr. MacKinnon,” said Cpl. Mark Skinner of the Nova Scotia RCMP.
Skinner said there is concern from a public safety perspective but they are also concerned for MacKinnon's personal safety because of the weather.
MacKinnon was only wearing a camouflage jacket and blue track pants when he fled.
“Seeing him wearing just a jacket and track pants, it's not exactly appropriate outdoor wear for these types of conditions,” he said. “There's concern from us in both ways.
“Things will continue, it is an active search for Mr. MacKinnon's arrest,” he said. “Hopefully he makes a decision to turn himself in. (We want) a peaceful resolution for everyone involved.”
SaltWire Network's chief meteorologist Cindy Day said temperatures dipped to -5 C in Inverness County overnight Monday with a wind chill of -12 and on Tuesday temperatures were -5 C with a wind chill of -12 C.
Day said 1-3 cm of snow was forecast for Inverness County Tuesday evening and temperatures were expected to dip to -7 C with a wind chill of -13 C. Today temperatures are expected to be -5 C and a wind chill of -13 C.
After MacKinnon fled the scene on Monday, RCMP contained the area and issued an emergency alert.
A significant number of RCMP were on scene, along with a RCMP helicopter and a plane.
“We're confident that he's in the area and we're confident that we have him contained in the area as well,” Skinner said, adding he could not discuss the details of the search.
Overnight Monday RCMP used a helicopter with infrared technology without success but will be continuing those efforts today.
“It's like a camera,” said Skinner in explaining the technology. “What it records is differences in the temperature.
“A person would show up as warm because there's a temperature variance radiant between the two. When you're using it anything in the forest that emits heat or there's that difference, it's going to show up. It could be a person, it could be animal, there could be a stream as the water is a different temperature than the ground. It's not certainly something that's perfect but it is a tool we are able to use.”
RCMP continued to ask residents of Meat Cove, a fishing village on the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, to remain in their homes Tuesday and wait for updates from police. The community is sparsely populated with about 12 houses, two lodges and a cabin.
If MacKinnon is spotted, residents are asked not to approach him and call 911.
All vehicles going in and out of the community are being stopped.
MacKinnon is wanted on warrants issued by provincial courts in both Port Hawkesbury and Sydney — both for failing to attend the courts in August.
MacKinnon was scheduled to stand trial in Sydney in August on weapon offences. He is charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, being an occupant of a vehicle and knowing a firearm was in the vehicle, careless use of a firearm, possession of a firearm while prohibited, and having knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm. The offences are alleged to have occurred March 29, 2019 on Victoria Road in Sydney.