WOLLASTON LAKE – A hunter who went missing about 100 kilometres north of Wollaston Lake did the right thing and survived, said Civilian Air Search and Rescue Association [CASARA].
A hunter became separated from his hunting group for about 22 hours and spent the night alone in temperatures that dipped down to minus 19 °C.
“His survival skills were really good,” CASARA Provincial Dispatch Vaughn Skogstad told SASKTODAY.ca in a phone interview Wednesday. “He did everything right. He made a really big fire and he did the smart thing and waited until daylight.”
Skogstad said CASARA’s aircraft spotted the hunter on his snowmobile at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, about 22 hours after he became separated from the group that he was hunting caribou with in a remote area.
The hunter became separated from his group at approximately 4 p.m. on Dec. 11. The other hunters had looked for him but weren't able to find him so they contacted Wollaston Lake RCMP at approximately 5 a.m. on Dec. 12. The RCMP called in CASARA and gave them the hunter’s last known location.
Skogstad said that their plane spotted the missing hunter about 10 minutes before searchers on snowmobiles would have found him on the trail.
Cpl. David Chamberlain from the Wollaston Lake RCMP said that partnerships with Rangers and CASARA are invaluable when policing a remote location like the Wollaston Lake detachment area.
“By working together, we located this missing male safe and sound – despite the rugged and remote terrain, and the 100-kilometre distance from our detachment area.”
Skogstad said CASARA members are all volunteers who take time off work to help with searches.
“We don’t get paid,” he said, adding that they do get reimbursed for their meals and aircraft expenses.
He said they help search for missing hunters, campers and missing people.
CASARA Saskatchewan is part of the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, a volunteer non-profit association that provides air search support as part of Canada's National Search and Rescue program.
Its membership is open to all pilots and/or aircraft owners, as well as to anyone who wants to receive training. Typical roles include Spotters, Pilots, Navigators, Ground Search Crew positions, and Base Support.
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