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Canada  

Friendly face in storm

An elderly Winnipeg man lost in the winter storm slamming southern Manitoba was found safe thanks to a man driving to work.

Winnipeg police sent out a public alert for 82-year-old Charles McAulay on Monday night.

Officers said McAulay was last seen in the Waverly area but may have made his way west to the St. Francois Xavier or Woodlands area of Manitoba.

However, McAulay had actually driven north near Traverse Bay and left his car in a ditch and began walking along the highway in the storm.

Landon Navitka said he was driving to work in Selkirk around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday when he saw someone walking in the middle of the road.

“It was pretty snowy, pretty icy, a whiteout,” Navitka said. “I saw this was someone not prepared to be out for a walk. I could tell he was not OK."

Navitka said McAulay was not wearing any winter clothing, just a hooded sweatshirt.

“He was covered in snow and ice, frozen to the bone. It looked like he was out in the cold for a while,” Navitka said.

He asked McAulay if he wanted to get in his car and he took him to Traverse Bay Corner Store to notify RCMP that he was found.

“I didn’t feel like I did anything too special, just helped out a fellow human being in need,” he said.



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