BC Search and Rescue team applauds actions of missing hiker who rescued himself

A man who went missing while hiking in the Buntzen Lake area is being applauded for his sensible actions.

This past Saturday, the Coquitlam Search and Rescue (SAR) went on a search for the missing man after he failed to return home after a hiking trip on the Diez Vistas trail.

The man, described and 6’3’’ and 48-years-old, had left at 11 a.m. and was expected home by 4 p.m. When he didn’t arrive, a family member called 911.

A search team of 20 people assembled at Buntzen Lake that evening and began searching for the man on the trail, one of the many regions that had been hit by heavy rain and strong winds.

They searched the trail until midnight and reported that the wind and torrential rain was proving challenging.

As Sunday morning dawned, the team was in the process of working out the logistics of a second operational period bringing in more volunteers and resources, when the missing hiker was spotted in the Buntzen Lake parking lot.

SAR reports that after the man realized he was lost, he did one of the most sensible things possible. He found shelter under a tree and weathered the storm, waiting until daylight to find his way back on his own. He even reported that he may have fallen asleep during the night, and couldn’t hear the searchers looking for him.

“We’d like to highlight the actions of our missing hiker on this search. SAR teams in BC and the AdventureSmart team spend a lot of time delivering backcountry safety seminars and training, and one of the main things we teach is that every hiker needs to have the minimum amount of gear to spend the night out if something goes wrong. We’d like to think that some of that effort is working!” said the Coquitlam SAR.