A helicopter rescue performed by COSAR.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/COSAR
September 24, 2021 - 9:39 AM
The Central Okanagan Search and Rescue team was dispatched last night after two Alberta hikers became lost near Peachland.
The group put a ceremony aside to unveil a new Westside gear cache location last night, Sept. 24, as two hikers became lost in the McCall Lake area and called for help, according to COSAR's press release.
The Alberta couple successfully made the 300-metre climb to the lake but became disoriented on the braided trails and, after circling the lake twice, they decided to sit, wait, and call for help, according to the rescue group.
With sunset about a half hour away, RCMP and COSAR decided to use a helicopter to extract the pair.
“It was textbook,” said search manager Duane Tresnich, in the press release.
“The couple did everything right by sitting and waiting for help. Wandering around in the dark could have led to trouble, as there are trails and cliffs everywhere," he said.
With the new cache on the Westside, crews assisting from that location arrived more than half hour earlier than those assisting from the rescue group's main location by the Kelowna airport.
The rescue group previously said it has outgrown its current building and were the target of thieves earlier this month.
"I think this speaks to the success of the new location," Tresnich said.
This was Central Okanagan Search and Rescue's 82nd task this year. The group is on track to break the record of 84 tasks, set in 2020.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2021