A snowmobiler who was reported missing by his wife late Sunday Jan. 17 was located safe by Princeton GSAR a few hours later.
“GSAR doesn’t normally search at night,” said RCMP Sgt. Rob Hughes.
Hughes said the man left his home at 9 a.m. Sunday, to travel to his cabin northeast of Chain Lake to work on some renovations.
“This was a regular occurrence for him,” said Hughes, who noted the man packed food and other supplies including snow shoes.
“He was prepared.”
He was expected home for dinner at 5:30 p.m and his wife reported he was overdue at approximately 10 p.m.
Eight local GSAR volunteers were rousted, and using snowmobiles reached the man’s cabin at about 1 a.m. Jan. 18. They found him very much alive with a dead sled.When the man was unable to start his machine to return home, he decided to spend the night in the bush.
The area does not have telephones or cellular reception. While the incident had a happy outcome Hughes stressed that people travelling in the wilderness should carry a satellite communicator in case of emergencies.
The stress and the deployment of first responders “could have been avoided by having a simple communication device.”
Related: Princeton rescue volunteer injured during cowboy search
Parents not giving up, after official search for Manning Park hiker suspended again
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