He was wet, cold and exhausted, but a Kelowna man is okay after he was rescued from a remote area between Myra Canyon and KLO Creek Regional Park, after spending a chilly night in the wilderness.
Ed Henczel with Central Okanagan Search and Rescue told Castanet they were contacted by the man’s girlfriend Sunday afternoon when the man in his 30s failed to return home. He had set out for a ride in the Angel Spring area but appeared to have gone far off-trail.
COSAR activated 15 members around dusk, including a ground, dog and e-bike team, who kept searching until about 2 a.m.
At first light, COSAR resumed the search, with the assistance of crew members from Vernon Search and Rescue and Penticton Search and Rescue.
“In the interim, the gentleman had hiked to where he could–his cell phone was dying–he hiked to where he could get a text message out and sent his coordinates,” said Henczel. “He was way up KLO Creek, well off the established trails.”
A ground team went in and found the man around 11:30 a.m. He was airlifted out thanks to the PenSAR helicopter long-line rescue team.
The cyclist was checked by BC EHS paramedics, and other than being cold and tired, he was unhurt and released.
This was the second time this year that COSAR has been called to find someone who got lost in the Myra Canyon area and the 12th rescue in the vicinity. All the others have been for injured hikers and cyclists.
“COSAR would like to remind adventurers, don’t go alone and pack the 10 essentials. He had a cold, cold night and all it required was a lighter and a little bit of tinder to get a campfire going and I guarantee his night would have been a lot more fun,” added Henczel.