Canadian woman feared crossing B.C. border for hospital care before death, son says

61-year-old Point Roberts resident was facing U.S. deportation proceedings after being questioned about voting in American elections

The U.S. border station at Point Roberts, Washington, photographed in August 2026. The border crossing is central to the community's road access to mainland Washington.

Photo credit: Yuet Man Lee

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POINT ROBERTS — A Canadian woman living in Point Roberts, Washington, died at her home on October 18, days after a fall that reportedly left her needing medical attention. Her son says she refused to go to hospital because she feared that crossing through British Columbia would prevent her from returning to the United States.

Paige Adamson, 61, had lived in Point Roberts since 2012 as a U.S. permanent resident. The small American community is geographically separated from the rest of Washington state, requiring residents travelling by road to Bellingham and other U.S. communities to cross the international border twice.

Her son, Dylan Adamson of Maple Ridge, told The Canadian Press that his mother had fallen at home and was advised by paramedics to seek hospital treatment. He said he later learned she had signed a form declining further care because she was concerned about what might happen when she tried to return to the United States.

Those concerns followed an encounter with American border officials on September 15, when Adamson was returning to Point Roberts from a birthday dinner in Tsawwassen, B.C.

According to reporting by Cascadia Daily News, border officers questioned her for approximately six hours about whether she had voted in American elections. She was subsequently issued a notice requiring her to appear before an immigration judge in Seattle on November 4.

The notice, described in documents obtained by The Canadian Press, alleged that Adamson had falsely represented herself as an American citizen to register to vote and had cast a ballot in the November 2018 election.

U.S. permanent residents are generally prohibited from voting in federal and state elections. Cascadia Daily News reported that publicly available Washington voting records showed Adamson had participated in previous elections, including the 2020 presidential primary, although she told the publication she did not remember voting.

The allegations had not been adjudicated when she died.

Blaine-based immigration lawyer Len Saunders, who was familiar with Adamson's case, told Cascadia Daily News that she had been reluctant to travel to Bellingham for medical treatment because she feared detention or being denied re-entry to the United States. Saunders was not representing her in the deportation proceedings but had discussed her situation with her and referred her to other lawyers.

Point Roberts has a medical clinic offering primary and urgent care, but hospital treatment generally requires travelling outside the community. According to Cascadia Daily News, a local acquaintance said Adamson had also avoided the clinic because she feared she might be referred to a hospital across the border.

Dylan Adamson told The Canadian Press that he did not learn about his mother's fall until after her death. He said he would have travelled to help her had he known about the accident.

Cascadia Daily News reported that the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office considered the death non-criminal. The publication also reported that natural causes were initially suspected, but a final medical cause of death had not been confirmed in the reporting reviewed. It has not been established whether hospital treatment would have changed the outcome.

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