Comox Valley Search Ground and Rescue was activated once again in the early hours of Saturday morning to assist in the search for a missing Israeli army officer on Quadra Island.The 21-year-old man and his brother had been guided into a mushroom picking area in Main Lake Provincial Park on Fridayafternoon. While mushroom picking, he became separated from the remainder of the party and wandered in the opposite direction of travel from where they had landed by boat.Four hours of searching and calling failed to locate the young man so the RCMP was called, followed by Campbell River SAR andsubsequently Comox Valley and Arrowsmith Search and Rescue.Comox SAR took over command of the Search operation Saturday morning, marshalling K-9 teams, ATV teams and ground teams conducting sound sweeps and containment of the search area. RCMP K-9 units and a helicopter were also utilized. The man was located in good condition almost 24 hours after going missing by one of the ATV teams. He had traveled some nine kilometres from the point last seen. During a post-operation interview, the man stated that had spent the night on the shore of Clear Lake, even leaving his white T-shirt as a marker. The T-shirt was located by a search helicopter early Saturday morning, but the young man had moved beyond this location.Comox Valley search manager Paul Berry cautions those venturing out into the wilderness.”If you believe you are lost, find shelter and stay in one place. If possible, create a signal and respond to searcher’s calls.”— Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue

Comox Valley Record