RCMP officer's hat returned to Surrey 45 years after his death
If you're a collector of police memorabilia, finding an RCMP Stetson at a flea market in Hamburg, Germany is kind of like finding an original Monet at a yard sale.
Tim Jöckel, a German national who lives there, couldn't believe his luck, especially because he'd been looking to add a Stetson to his collection for years. When Jöckel brought the hat home, he discovered initials and a series of numbers scrawled on the inside of the band. Jöckel then called his friend in Canada, retired RCMP Supt. Ric Hall, to ask if he could help figure out who the hat belonged to.
Hall's search led him to the Surrey RCMP, where they were able to determine the rightful owner was Const. Terry Draginda, who died while on duty 45 years ago.
It's not known how Draginda's hat wound up in a flea market in Germany.
Cst. Terry Draginda
Draginda was born in the Northwest Territories and joined the RCMP as a young man.
He came to the Surrey detachment, and on September 29, 1974 he was responding to a crash involving a motorcycle.
His patrol car collided with another vehicle near the intersection of 152 Street and 96 Avenue, killing him and two others. He was 24.
A framed picture of Draginda, wearing his red coat and Stetson, hangs in the lobby of the Surrey RCMP detachment.
Sgt. Chad Greig says members were stunned when they found out the hat was being returned and will soon be displayed in the foyer near Draginda's picture.
"If this hat could talk," Greig sad.
"Where has this hat been for 44 years? It's great to have it back at Surrey detachment."
The Surrey RCMP sent Jöckel a new Stetson in exchange for for Draginda's hat.
