Couple who lived out of truck on side of highway previously lived rough in camp above Kelowna

Photo: Contributed

A couple that recently spent 15 days living out of their truck after it broke down on the highway near Armstrong are no strangers to bad luck.

Madeline and Zoltan Husanik previously lived in the bush in the hills above Kelowna's Kettle Valley neighbourhood.

They spent three years living rough in a makeshift camp with no electricity, heat or water as recently as 2019.

At that time, Kelowna residents and businesses banded together and provided the couple with a used SUV and travel trailer.

The couple had lived in the Glenmore area, but in November of last year moved to an RV campground near Sicamous.

When that lot sold, they were told they had to move.

Requiring a truck capable of hauling the trailer, they bought a cheap pickup, but its engine blew en route to the campsite.

Without much means, they were left stranded by the side of the highway at the Fortune Creek rest stop for more than two weeks.

Meanwhile, their trailer got towed from the campground for being "abandoned."

The owner of the impound lot has since reduced the amount he wants to release the camper, and the owners say damage to it during towing has been repaired.

The couple washed in the creek and ate out of a cooler until their plight caught the attention of Salmon Arm resident Claudia Boschmann, who has taken them in temporarily.

"It feels good to have a proper night's sleep and so nice to finally have a shower," Madeline said Tuesday.

"What an angel," said Madeline. "We were really starting to break down, emotionally."