More than a week after someone killed three children in Merritt, a man who was once an inspector with the RCMP says the police could have done more to catch their prime suspect.
Police didn't employ basic tools such as a roadblock to catch fugitive Allan Schoenborn, said Bill Majcher, a retired RCMP officer.
"I mean we do this if there's a robbery at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Merritt," he told CTV News. "They would have set up roadblocks whether they knew a person escaped in a car or not."
"This investigation isn't batting 1.000... for what it could have done or should have done," Majcher said.
When Kaitlyn, Max and Cordon Schoenborn were discovered dead inside their Merritt home on April 6, officers said they had no suspect and no one was in custody.
But more than 20 hours later, they announced they had launched a manhunt for their prime suspect -- the father of the children, 40-year-old Allan Schoenborn.
"Honestly I don't know why it took so long to put out that kind of general alert," said Majcher.
Majcher was an RCMP detective for 22 years, who rose to inspector. Then he retired from the force after being suspended with pay after an internal investigation.
There was never any suggestion of criminal conduct nor any suggestion that Majcher wasn't an expert investigator, at least in white collar crime.
Majcher also was concerned about a tip that two store employees near Lumby had forwarded to police on Wednesday -- but it wasn't followed up until days later.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner Al Macintyre conceded that he was concerned about the speed at which police followed up on the tip.
But Macintyre says he's satisfied and is receiving regular updates.
