A man and his daughter, first reported missing, have been found safe on a Wilderness hiking trail along the Silver River after an NSRI search was called for them on Tuesday, March 31.
The father, 34, his daughter, 11, and their dog and kitten had decided to spend the lockdown camping out and hiking. They were expected back after the 21-day lockdown ended, however the man’s sister informed the NSRI that she had received a call from them saying they were running low on rations.
She alerted the NSRI after the call dropped and no further contact could be made.
“The man’s brother had also been alerted and he assisted to give a clearer indication of where the camp site was,” said Garth Dominy, NSRI Wilderness station commander.
As the call was made Tuesday evening [March 31], an initial search was conducted of the area but dense vegetation made access too unsafe to continue a search at night.
Three NSRI Wilderness crew and four EMS rescue paramedics and an EMS rescue manager from WC Government Health EMS and Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) prepared to begin a search on Wednesday morning, April 1.
After gaining permission to hike through private land to reach the remote and dense bush area where the campers were believed to be, the rescuers found the pair and their pets.
“They were found to be in the process of packing up to return home and the search party assisted in clearing the camp site and they were hiked back to the road access point without incident and the sister arrived and they went home with the man’s sister,” said Dominy.
“All were fine, including the dog and the kitten, and once safely back home no further assistance was required.”
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