Image Credit: Google Maps
August 18, 2013 - 4:34 PM
You won’t get an invoice in the mail if Search and Rescue volunteers have to haul you out of the wilderness.
It’s the message Central Okanagan Search and Rescue Society is trying to get across following the recovery of three stranded people and a dog in the Greystokes Protected Area north of Big White Mountain.
The trio got their jeeps stuck while exploring the popular back country recreation area.
COSAR got the call at 2 a.m. Sunday and sent in 9 volunteers once they had the GPS coordinates from one of the stranded individuals’ cell phones.
The woman, two men and little dog were cold, hungry and tired, but according to Duane Tresnich with Search and Rescue, “They were in great shape considering they spent the night in the outdoors unprepared.”
Their cell phone was about to die from trying to call their friends to come and find them when the called 911.
“Lucky for COSAR, all the contacted people turned them down,” Tresnich says. “We had to rescue 3 people instead of many more.”
While the Search and Rescue Society doesn’t bill the people they help, apparently a handshake or a hug goes a long way.
The other thing to remember is you don’t have to wait 24 hours before reporting someone missing.
“In fact, the sooner the better.”
Tresnich says if you feel your loved ones haven’t returned home at the appointed time you should call the RCMP. “The police will call the nearest Search and Rescue team to find them day or night.
To contact the reporter for this story, email halexander@infotelnews.ca or call 250-491-0331.
View Larger Map
News from © iNFOnews, 2013