Man died after he called 911 and no one came; family claims cover-up
- Richard Hutton
- Aug 7
- 2 min read
Family still looking for answers nearly a year after Ralph Buerger's death
Richard Hutton
Aug 3, 2025 12:00 PM
It has been almost a year since Ralph Buerger died in his Pelham home.
Despite a call to 911, no help came as Ralph lay on the floor in the early hours of Aug. 30, 2024, unable to speak. Emergency services were never dispatched.
Now, his family wants answers. They and a group of friends — about 18 people in all — held a demonstration out front of Niagara Regional Police headquarters in Niagara Falls a week ago to draw attention to what happened to Ralph, who was 59.
Two Freedom of Information requests have been denied but the family did finally get a copy of the 911 call.
The recording — just 35 seconds in length — is chilling. The call begins with a loud bang — presumed to be Ralph falling to the floor.
Besides the 911 operator asking questions, all that is heard is the sound of heavy, laboured breathing and then the call is disconnected, When the operator called back there was no answer. The operator “pinged” the location of the call, but in the end, no first responders were dispatched.
Ralph’s brother Rick, who lives in Thailand, was back in Canada on vacation and was staying with Ralph and recalled the events of the following morning.
“At 8 a.m., one of his daughters that was there, she woke me up frantically, and I ran downstairs where we found Ralph lying on the kitchen floor,” Rick said.
