A short hiking trip turned into an impromptu night out for a group of tourists who recently lost themselves in the West Coast’s wilderness.
Three hikers, visiting Tofino from Quebec, set out on what was supposed to be a short jaunt through the woods near Radar Hill on Aug. 7 but they wound up spending the night outside before finding civilization near Cox Bay the following morning.
“Police received a report of three males walking out of the woods at Cox Bay looking cold and lost,” said Cpl. Therese Cochlin of the Tofino RCMP.
“The hikers reported they were thirsty, cold and hungry and that during their unplanned adventure they had encountered a bear and been stung by wasps, but otherwise were OK.”
The tourists said they had tried calling 911 when they realized they were lost around 6 p.m. on Aug. 7, according to Cochlin who noted a 911 call had come in around that time but the call was dropped and efforts to reconnect proved futile.
“Police attempted numerous calls back to the phone, attempted to located the phone subscriber as well as the location of the phone, but all efforts were unsuccessful,” she said.
“Public safety personnel from Pacific Rim National Park attended and interviewed the hikers to learn where they went wrong and what could be done to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”
Andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
