A 72-year-old Burns Lake man was found safe and sound after losing communications with his wife while hunting northeast of Fort Babine.
The Smithers RCMP received a report of an overdue/missing hunter on Feb. 28, 2017 at 6:30 a.m. The Burns Lake man went goat hunting in the Bates Range, approximately 100 km north of Smithers.
The experienced and prepared hunter normally kept in touch with his spouse via an inReach two-way satellite communicator twice daily. Since the Smithers RCMP were unable to contact the missing hunter via inReach, search and rescue was activated.
The inReach provided coordinates of the last contact, which was approximately three hours from Smithers. Bulkley Valley Search and Rescue deployed a helicopter and located the hunter near his truck at approximately 1 p.m. that same day.
His inReach device was not functioning and he was unable to contact anyone. The hunter was able to drive out on his own and return safely to Burns Lake.
