Quick work by members of the Penticton and District Search and Rescue (PENSAR) and teams from Oliver and Osoyoos helped locate an overdue snowmobiler Monday night.
RCMP contacted PENSAR just after 8 p.m. about a 40-year-old man who had not returned from an afternoon ride in the Allendale Lake Recreation Area about 24 kilometres east of Okanagan Falls.
In total, 26 search and rescue personnel attended the site with five sleds and built a base camp by about 10:30 p.m. and found the stranded snowmobiler within a half hour about a kilometre from the lake. The man, believed to be from the Okanagan Falls area, was reportedly unfamiliar with the region and his machine got stuck in the deep snow and he was unable to get it out.
According to search manager Richard Terry, the male was cold after spending seven hours in the bush but otherwise in good condition.
“We were happy the individual decided to stay with his machine and not wander off,” said Terry.
