PORT ALICE – A 66-year old hiker reported missing near Port Alice Feb. 5 was found by searchers the next afternoon.
Just after 8 p.m. Saturday evening, Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue (CVGSAR) was contacted by the Emergency Co-ordination Centre in Victoria requesting assistance in the search for the man who had become separated from his hiking partner and failed to rendezvous before nightfall.
A team of five SAR specialists travelled to the Yreka mine site west of Port Alice. Search conditions at the mine site were hampered through the night by weather and dangerous terrain. At first light, search teams from both Campbell River and Comox SAR, an RCMP canine unit and a helicopter were used to search for the missing man.
At 1 p.m., the subject was located and was transported to Port McNeill hospital for treatment of hypothermia.
CVGSAR team members arrived home early Sunday evening dirty, wet and exhausted after devoting more than 120 man-hours to the search and travelling more than 800 kilometres.
“This is what we do,” commented CVGSAR search manager Paul Berry. “On a dark and stormy night, when the call to serve comes, our members leave the comforts, safety and warmth of their homes, their families and often their jobs to aid others.”