Yellowknife (Sep 24/04) - The movie finishes around midnight and a 14-year-old leaves the theatre and begins walking the streets of Yellowknife, looking in vain for a payphone to call home.

Rose Bailey: Not impressed with the apparent lack of pay phones downtown.

He wanders aimlessly until he's finally found by a concerned family member almost two hours later.

This is what happened to Rose Bailey's grand nephew, when he visited the city from Rae in July.

"We got scared when we didn't hear from him," she said. "My husband Ernie finally found him after midnight."

Concerned about the apparent shortage of payphones in the city, Bailey called NorthwesTel "but I didn't get any answer from them," she said.

Her concern now is for any underage person who needs to use a pay phone late at night.

"Most pay phones are in buildings now and kids can't use them after 10 p.m.," she said. "The only thing that's open after that are bars and they are underage so they can't go in there to make a call."

However, Ann Kennedy, media representative with NorthwesTel, doesn't see the problem.

"The pay phones are located in strategic positions in the downtown core, including outside the Northwest Tower, near City Hall, near Mildred Hall school and at the Husky on Franklin," she said.

"We want them to be in good places that aren't high risk for vandalism, while remaining accessible, secure and frequently used."

Kennedy went on to say there haven't been any complaints prior to this and that they seem to have a sufficient number of accessible phones.

"Any underage person who needs to use a pay phone after most businesses have closed their doors are still able to at many hotel lobbies and gas stations," she said.