RESOLUTION NO.
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COTATI RECOGNIZING
OFFICER REINKE AND THE COTATI POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR
OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY
WHEREAS, on November 7, 2022, Camille Markovich was reported missing by family members.
WHEREAS, the family called the California Highway Patrol and Oregon State Police inquiring if either agency had contacted Camille during their patrols, and was directed to the Cotati Police Department as she was last seen leaving work in Cotati; and WHEREAS, Officer Ryan Reinke was on duty and was dispatched the call; and WHEREAS, Officer Reinke discovered that Camille had last used her credit card in Eureka and worked with Cotati Dispatchers Montoya and McGoon to arrange a location “ping” on Camille’s cellular phone, entering her in the missing person databases for both California and Oregon, creating a missing person flyer to be distributed and sent a “be-on-the-lookout” for Camille to multiple Oregon and California law enforcement agencies; and WHEREAS, the cellular phone last ping was from a tower located in rural Humboldt County and was no longer pinging any cellular towers, indicating a likely dead battery; and WHEREAS, Humboldt County Sheriff deputies and California Highway Patrol officers informed Officer Reinke that a severe snowstorm was occurring in Northern California; and WHEREAS, speaking with Camille’s family members, Officer Reinke discovered that she was possibly taking rural roads connecting to Highway 199 on her way to Oregon, which would take her through Siskiyou County; and
WHEREAS, Officer Reinke worked with the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department to search for Camille and Sergeant Wardle continued to maintain communications during the night shift; and
WHEREAS, Siskiyou County deputies improvised by having a civilian with a snowmobile check the rural road that Camille was believed to traveling and ultimately located her far up the rural road with her car “stuck” in the snow and her cellular phone battery dead; and WHEREAS, the car was out of gas and the heater was inoperable, so despite wearing every article of clothing that she had with her, it was becoming dangerously cold in the car; and WHEREAS, thanks to the diligent work of Officer Reinke and other assisting officers and dispatchers, Camille was transported to a safe location and survived the ordeal; and WHEREAS, for his outstanding service, Officer Reinke was awarded the 2022 Excellence Award, which is awarded by staff to one staff person who show exceptional commitment and going above and beyond in service of the community; and WHEREAS, Officer Reinke also was selected by the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association as the recipient of the Exchange Club Officer of the Year Award from among all law enforcement agencies in Sonoma County; and
WHEREAS, the action of adopting this resolution of appreciation does not constitute a project as defined by California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378; therefore, no further environmental review is required.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City Council of the City of Cotati does hereby find that the actions of Officer Reinke and the Cotati Police Department saved Camille Markovich’s life by quickly and diligently pursuing the case and locating her before it was too late; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council extends its deepest gratitude and appreciation to Officer Reinke and the Cotati Police Department for their outstanding work every day, as highlighted by saving Camille Markovich.
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cotati held on the April 11th, 2023, by the following vote, to wit:
Approved:________________________________
Mayor
Attest:____________________________
Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
Approved as to form:
____________________________
City Attorney