by Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 12/97) - RCMP are having a tough time dealing with runaways.

Over the last two weekends numerous runaways who abandon their homes and hide from RCMP have tied up police manpower on the streets of Yellowknife.

"We're using a lot of police resources for a problem that's unsolvable," said Staff Sgt. Dave Grundy. "I don't have any idea how to tackle this problem."

Last week there were 11 young people reported missing to police but many were spotted hanging out at the mall or around town and did not want to go home.

Grundy said some of the youngsters were approached by RCMP but said if they were taken home they would only run away again.

One RCMP member who's been dealing with the runaways said that, when he worked in Manitoba, habitual runaways would be asked to call police daily to say they were OK, instead of having officers constantly patrol the streets looking for them.

Grundy said that might be one solution, but it does not guarantee the safety of runaways.

"It's a deeper problem than running away," he said. "What if they freeze to death?"

The onus is on the RCMP to make sure children are found when they're reported missing.

"They're young and they feel they know what they want," he said. "But there are consequences when they take things into their own hands."

As of Sunday night, three young people were still on the missing list: Kim Hallberg, 15; Frankie Black, 15; and Joselyn Beaulieu, 13.

RCMP are asking anyone with information on the teenagers' whereabout to give the nearest detachment a call.