Two Saskatchewan Mounties shot a week ago have died in hospital from wounds

I read that headline... and went OMG!! I didn't know they were close to dying. Only thing I heard was that perhaps one was in serious condition. So you can imagine my shock at reading that headline!
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/16072006/2/national-saskatchewan-mounties-shot-week-died-hospital-wounds.html

SASKATOON (CP) - The grievous head wounds received by two Saskatchewan Mounties in a gun battle last week proved too much to overcome, an RCMP commander said Sunday as he announced the deaths of constables Robin Cameron and Marc Bourdages.

"Robin died at approximately 11 p.m. (Saturday) and Marc about two hours later," said Assistant Commissioner Darrell McFadyen."Both succumbed to severe head injuries. Despite all of the excellent care that was provided to them, they were unable to recover."

The officers, based at the Spiritwood detachment north of Saskatoon, were shot on the night of July 7 while chasing local resident Curtis Dagenais following a domestic dispute in Spiritwood.

"We asked for that miracle for our members to survive, but it wasn't meant to be," Howard Cameron, Robin's father, told a news conference.

"I believe that Marc is with us now in spirit and that he is in a better place where he can be peaceful," said Bourdages's widow, Natasha Szpakowksi, who is also a constable at Spiritwood.

The two fallen officers were five-year veterans. Cameron was the single mother of an 11-year-old daughter and Bourdages leaves behind a nine-month-old son.

McFadyen, the officer in charge of Saskatchewan, said regimental funerals are being planned.

"We're all tremendously saddened by today's news. Marc and Robin were both dedicated and much-loved members of the RCMP. We grieve with the Bourdages and Cameron families," he said.

"The sacrifice that both Robin and Marc have made in the line of duty will never be forgotten. It is something which we will honour on behalf of all Canadians."

In Regina, Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert said both officers were heroes and added that it was a profound day of sadness in his province.

"Their families, especially Const. Cameron's young daughter and Const. Bourdages's wife and son, their parents . . . are in our thoughts and prayers as they must now deal with the overwhelming sad reality of the passing of these brave and courageous officers."

In Spiritwood, an agricultural hub of 1,000 people, residents woke Sunday to news that two officers who had sworn to protect them had died doing just that.

"The word that comes to my mind is devastated. I know that is how Elsie will feel and I know that is how the town will feel," said Leigh Sinclair, the pastor at the Lutheran and United Church.

Sinclair has been the spokeswoman for Dagenais's mom, Elsie, who is divorced from his father, Art. She said she expects there would be a heartache in churches across town as they remember the fallen Mounties.

"We are planning to spend most of this Sunday in prayer."

Mag Szabo, who runs the diner Mag's Soup 'n Such, said, "I'm shocked and I feel really sad about it."

She said she had come to know Cameron, who would come to the restaurant for lunch and to pick up meals for prisoners. "Poor things, And it's just so sad for their families. It's just really, really sad."

Bourdages was from Saint-Eustache near Montreal and had previously served in detachments in Lac La Biche, Alta., and Pelican Narrows in Saskatchewan.

Szpakowksi, her voice breaking at times, said support from all quarters has been overwhelming. "We've had family and friends fly in from British Columbia, all over Alberta, all over Saskatchewan and from Quebec.

"Their love and support and the messages that we have received from across Canada is what has helped us stay strong through this horrible week."

Cameron hailed from the Beardy's and Okemasis reserve near Saskatoon.

"We knew the risks. She knew the risks. But it never really played a part in her fulfilling her duties," her father said in his tribute.

"Many stories we have heard in the past week have only made us prouder of our daughter, he said, adding that "with the loss of the two members, our extended family has grown to the Bourdages family."

The hunt for Dagenais, 41, entered its ninth full day Sunday with no sign of him.

After the shooting, police cordoned off a 208-square kilometre area of bush and pastureland around the crime scene. For a week, tactical teams, supported by tracker dogs and a search helicopter searched the area to no avail. They are tracking down more than 140 tips.

Police say Dagenais is familiar with the area and is considered armed and dangerous. They haven't ruled out the possibility that he might have killed himself.

The fateful chase began that Friday evening after an alleged domestic dispute at the home Elsie Dagenais spilled out onto the town's main street.

Family members say Dagenais went to the home after learning that Elsie was likely to get half the family farm east of town near Mildred, where Art lives. Dagenais's uncle, Herb Jaster, said his nephew had hoped to inherit it all.

Police were called and Dagenais reportedly sped off in his truck. A second police cruiser driven by a third Mountie joined in. The vehicles sped past grain fields and pastures for almost 30 kilometres in the direction of the farmhouse and Art Dagenais.

Court has heard that Dagenais tearfully phoned his father on his cellphone during the chase, saying he didn't think his truck could outrun police. The phone then went dead.

The chase ended soon afterward and the two officers were shot. Bullet holes were clearly visible later low on the front windshield.

The third officer returned fire but was not hurt. Police have not released the name of that officer but have said that it was not Szpakowksi.

Dagenais fled into the bush with his weapon, wearing a shirt, cut-off jeans and a ball cap.

The next day his father was arrested by police and charged with obstruction of justice. Police allege he defied orders not to return to the restricted search zone.

The elder Dagenais, 69, has been denied bail pending trial on the grounds he is a threat to public safety and to the search for his son. Police also fear that if he were released, he would try to help his son evade capture.

RCMP have since located $27,000 cash and two rifles hidden in a combine in the shed on the Dagenais farm.

For some residents, this tragedy has brought back memories of Mayerthorpe, Alta., where four Mounties were gunned down by police hater James Roszko at a Quonset hut on his farm last year.

The two cases have eerie parallels. Both took place in bucolic north Prairie farming towns, and each of the accused was a loner with acknowledged animosity toward police.

Residents had comforted themselves this week with the knowledge that, unlike in Mayerthorpe, two of the people in red serge who had sworn to protect them in Spiritwood were alive. In fact, no flowers had been placed in front of the RCMP detachment, a sign that everyone had hoped there would not be any need for flowers.