Weyerhaeuser employees, RCMP and search and rescue volunteers spent five hours near Juskatla looking for a lost mushroom picker last Friday, Sept. 3.
The off islands man, in his late 60's, became turned around in the woods after a bear startled him, said Cst. Trevor Romanchych of the Masset RCMP. When the rest of his party realized he was missing, they contacted Weyerhaeuser. More than a dozen employees spent three fruitless hours searching on foot and by helicopter before calling the RCMP for help with the search.
The RCMP coordinated volunteers from the Port Clements and Masset Rangers as well as search and rescue volunteers from Sandspit. Before they arrived to begin the search though, the rescuers received word that the man was located. RCMP helped mop up the search and debrief everyone involved, said Cst. Romanchych.
The man went into the woods without proper emergency supplies or appropriate rain gear, said Cst. Romanchych. "Everything turned out okay. Thanks to Weyerhaeuser for the time, effort and money put into the search," he said.
With mushroom season here, people need to be aware of how easy it is to get turned around in the woods. Before going into the woods, people need to prepare themselves with basic emergency equipment like a garbage bag that can be used as a rain poncho, said Cst. Romanchych.