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Patch image: British Columbia Ministry of Environment - Conservation Officer Service, British Columbia






Game Warden Albert Edward Farey
British Columbia Ministry of Environment - Conservation Officer Service
British Columbia

End of Watch: Tuesday, October 4, 1932

Biographical Info
Age: 50
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Not available
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available

"A popular officer with a splendid war and peacetime record" was Game Commissioner A. Bryan Williams assessment of Game Warden Albert Farey after he was murdered near Lillooet on October 4th 1932.

That Farey was the second game warden murdered in two years shocked both game officials and the BC Police.

Prior to becoming a Provincial Game Warden "Bert" Farey was a decorated W.W.I veteran who was wounded in action, a big game guide, trapper, forestry patrol officer, Dominion Police Officer and a twelve year veteran of the BC Provincial Police. Shot down by as he inspected a deer hide in the suspects possession, Farey died instantly from the two shots fired into his back as he bent over the hide.

Farey was born in England in 1882 and immigrated to Canada at the age of eighteen. He moved to the Lillooet area twelve years prior to his death. Game Commissioner A. Bryan Willams stated that his experience as a guide and trapper made him ideally suited for the position he held. At the time of his death Farey had been a game warden for four years.

The encounter with the accused that lead to Farey's murder was not their first. In 1929 the accused was fined twenty-five dollars for illegally possessing deer meat. Farey was the game warden who brought him before the courts. The accused held a grudge against Farey from that day on. The accused, seventy-six years old at the time of Farey's murder, was a life long resident of the Lillooet area. His skill as a woodsman and big game guide was legendary.

A decorated W.W.I veteran, he dyed his gray hair and enlisted in the army at the age of sixty and served with distinction as a sniper. Proud of his war time record he wore his army cap long after his military service ended.

On October 3rd 1932, the accused was setting up camp along the north fork of the Bridge River. The accused was with 2 individuals at the time of the incident. Earlier Farey had driven past them as they rode their horses along the road near the river. Shortly after starting to make camp, Farey walked into their camp. After a brief conversation with the accused, Farey went down to the creek and returned shortly with a bag containing a deer hide. In 1932 was the first year that tags were required on game animals, and the hide that Farey had found did not have the tags attached.

Farey questioned the accused about the tags and why the meat from the deer had been hidden away. Records of the day show no reply from the accused to Farey's questions. At some point Farey turned away from the accused and according to one of the witnesses testimony at the inquest "I saw the accused bring the rifle up about halfway and fire. Mr. Farey fell at the first shot".

After shooting Farey, the accused handed the rifle over to one of his companions, and walked off into the bush. After finding that Farey was dead the two witnesses alerted police. Game Wardens and police officers conducted an intense manhunt for the accused. On the third day Game Wardens Robertson and Quesnel confronted the accused at a crossing on the Bridge River. the accused refused to surrender and was shot and wounded in the leg by Robertson as he tried to escape on foot. The accused never stood trial for the murder of Farey. He died on the way to hospital from shock and advanced tuberculosis.

Farey's death was over shadowed by the manhunt for Gott and a local furor over what was perceived as the unnecessary death of Gott at the hands of the game wardens and police. Newspaper articles of the day chronicled the accused guiding expertise, outdoor skills and wartime achievements, while scant attention was paid to the life of the murdered game warden.

Game Warden Albert Farey was buried in the Lillooet cemetery and his funeral never made the newspapers of the day.



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