Terrace Search and Rescue (SAR) had a busy weekend to start March with three missing or stranded persons calls.
Late in the evening of March 2 Terrace RCMP received a call from four teens, three boys and one girl, who were lost on Terrace Mountain.
Police then contacted SAR and their general position was determined by obtaining coordinates through a cell phone being used by the group.
“The group also gave a physical description of their location which alerted SAR to their general area,” said SAR president Dwayne Sheppard.
“The missing group had parked near the old bridge to hike to the Kermode Bear Lookout; they missed the route to the lookout and ended up on the other side of Terrace Mountain. It was dark, and the group would not travel further along the trail for fear of becoming more lost or injured.”
After telling the group to stay at their location, 20 SAR members combed the area, quickly locating the four teens.
“The group was cold but had no injuries,” said Sheppard, adding the group was escorted back to the their vehicle, just over one hour after SAR was called out.
Sheppard did say the group was not prepared for an extended trip or a night on the mountain and that one teen was wearing only a T-shirt.
“Their cell phone battery was depleted and the group had no flashlights. They did the right thing by staying put when advised, this allowed the SAR team to find the subject faster than if they kept moving to different locations,” he said.
SAR was called out again March 5 after police asked for assistance to find and rescue two people stranded on China Bar, a gravel bar on the Skeena River approximately half-way between Terrace and Prince Rupert.
The couple had parked near the highway and walked to the isolated lower end of China Bar but became stranded by the rising tide, said Sheppard.
The pair tried to leave but before their cell phone battery ran out, they called 911 for help, he said.
Terrace Water Rescue left Terrace just after noon on March 5 and arrived at the location in good time, said Sheppard.
With their swiftwater gear on and in their Zodiac inflatable craft the team rescued the couple, who were wet and cold with mild hypothermia but otherwise OK, he said.
“People often get stranded on China Bar when the tide rises,” said Sheppard.
“A car and occupants can be completely submerged on sections of China Bar; as a result, this can be a high priority call requiring an immediate response,” said Sheppard.
On March 7, search and rescue were called out to the Red Sands area alongside Red Sand Lake north of Terrace for a rescue there, said Sheppard, but didn’t have details by press time.
Terrace RCMP reported March 8 that between March 4 and 8, a woman was reported late from a day trip requiring the callout of search and rescue.
The woman returned a short time later but in the meantime, a family member had gone to search for her in a vehicle unsuitable for the road conditions, said police.
Search and rescue continued to look and found that person stuck on a forest service road, said police.
