Prince George Search and Rescue (PGSAR) has safely located a man of about 70 years who was lost while walking along the great division path.
PGSAR says that the man was walking along the path for a period of two weeks, which implied a meaningful finding and backing, when he separated from his partner.
After a search day, his hiking partner called the RCMP to inform him back and missing.
“We were using drones to search the area. We had people walked through the area looking for this individual,” said Dave Merritt, a PGSAR manager.
“We were dropping search engines on the mountain, causing them to walk to the bottom of Valle on the routes that the big hikers take in the area to try to find where this individual was.”
He says that the search was initiated by Robson Valley Search and Rescue, with the support of Prince George and Fort St. John’s search and rescue groups, as well as Crescent Spur Heliskiing volunteers.
The Great divides Trail is a system of paths of the multiple section that crosses the division between Alberta and Columbia Britanic, which extends through the Canadian rock mountains for more than 1,100 kilometers.
Merritt says that the man disappeared in a remote section of the path between Tumbler Ridge and McBride.
Hiker found in ‘Good Spirit’
“It is very remote where this individual separated from his hiking partner. There are no roads; there is no access outside a helicopter for our search engines, so we could not put vehicles on the ground to approach,” he said.
Despite the difficult search, they located man on Tuesday within 48 hours after the start of the search. Merritt says they found him in good condition before being taken to a safe place.
“The gentleman was well prepared, and with the information we obtained, he could have lowered the wrong valley and realized that he was in the wrong place and was working back to a different place when he found it,” said Merritt.
He said that the man still had several days of food and had an independent package with a tent and other supplies.
“He and his partner had been separated for at least three or four days at that time. But, in general, he was in a good mood and was in good shape.”
Merritt said that man was an experienced hiker, but the incident is an important reminder to be prepared with additional supplies and a communication plan when leaving the rear country.
“We were able to gather a family with someone who is missing, and that makes us feel all the effort and insomnia nights that we put in this, and training hours are worth it.”
