A 22 year old woman, that was reported missing Wednesday evening from a group hike north of Naramata in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park, was located this morning after an extensive effort by local Search and Rescue (SAR) teams and the use of the RCMP helicopter.
On Wednesday July 13th 2016 at 850 pm, the Penticton RCMP received a report of a missing hiker from a member of a group of nine hikers that were hiking to the top of Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park.
They went up a challenging trail, when the group outpaced the 22 year old woman and she became separated from the other hikers. When she did not make it to the top with the rest of the group they thought she had returned to their vehicle near the entrance to the trail approximately 6 km down Chute Lake Road. Upon their return to the vehicle they could not find their friend and called the police. Police Officers and 12 SAR team members hiked the route in the dark but were unable to locate the missing female.
This morning, at first light, 14 SAR team members from Princeton, Oliver/Osoyoos, Keremeos and Penticton were on the ground with the support of both an Eclipse and HNZ helicopter for evacuation and personnel transport. The RCMP Helicopter from Kelowna assisted the search with two SAR team members on board and safely located the missing female.
The 22 year old female from Montreal found herself off the trail and was lightly dressed without water. She built herself a temporary shelter for the night and hiked toward Okanagan Lake this morning. Upon hearing the search helicopter, she signalled to it with clothing tied to a branch and was spotted. The helicopter transported her to Penticton Regional Airport where she was met by BC Ambulance personnel and assessed. Aside from being cold last night she had suffered no injuries and did not require further medical attention. Police gave her a ride back to the orchard near Munson Mountain where she is employed as a seasonal worker.
“The RCMP would like to thank all of our dedicated Search and Rescue volunteers who assisted in bringing this matter to a safe conclusion”, said Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth of the Penticton RCMP, “These individuals train countless hours to keep our community safe and we rely on their expertise in these situations. I would like to remind the public to ensure that they are prepared when going out on a local adventure, bring the right gear, water and supplies and do not go out alone”.