Central Okanagan

A Lake Country volunteer fire fighter was found safe and sound after he was reported overdue from a fishing trip to the Island Lake area off of Beaver Lake Road.

However, Central Okanagan Search and Rescue search manager, David Crawford, says a delay in reporting the man missing could have had dire consequences.

Crawford says the man left Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. and was expected back at 3 p.m.

When he didn't return, his girlfriend went into the area about 3 a.m. to look for him, but found nothing.

She didn't alert RCMP and Search and Rescue until this morning (Wednesday).

"Due to the many roads and lakes in the area, we (COSAR) asked for help from Civil Air Search and Rescue as well as Vernon Search and Rescue," says Crawford.

Fellow Lake Country volunteer fire fighters also assisted in the search.

Crawford says the man was safely located. His truck had become stuck in an area with no cell service.

He says the commonly held belief that members of the public can't report someone missing for 24 hours is not true.

"That mistaken belief caused a delay in the initial call to the RCMP. In this case no harm was done but, Search and Rescue would like to remind the public they can report someone missing at any reasonable time when they are overdue," says Crawford.

"There is no need to wait for a specified time to elapse. That interval could make a big difference when someone is lost or hurt."