Two men rescued from Castlegar-area backwoods yesterday
By Castlegar Source
Two local men are home safe after being stranded in the backcountry yesterday, according to Castlegar top cop Sgt. Darren Oelke.
“At 7:11 p.m. on Feb. 20, the Castlegar Detachment received a report of two men who were overdue from a day trip on their snowmobiles,” Oelke said in a press release today. “Fortunately the pair had informed family members where they were heading.
“Castlegar and Grand Forks Search and Rescue attended the area of RialtoForest Service Road and were able to follow fresh snowmobile tracks from the men’s vehicle. At 11:26 p.m., SAR located the two men about 30 km from their vehicle.”
He said both snowmobiles had broken down.
“The men tried to hike to a cabin only to find it had been destroyed. They did manage to start a fire and planned to wait until daylight to hike out.“
He said the situation underscored the importance of being equipped for potential emergencies when in the Kootenay backcountry.
“The men were not well prepared for their outing,” he said. “They werenot appropriately dressed to spend a night outdoors and they did not have emergencies supplies or equipment. One man suffered frostbite to his toes and was taken to Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital by ambulance.
“Police would like to thank SAR Teams for another job well done and remind those persons heading into the backcountry to be fully prepared for their trip.”
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