Snow cave dug by missing snowmobiler (Photo: South Cariboo Search & Rescue/Facebook)

By Caden Fanshaw

Search and Rescue

South Cariboo SAR commend youth snowmobiler after rescue

Jan 17, 2021 | 8:44 AM

100 MILE HOUSE – Search and Rescue are commending a teen snowmobiler who they say got separated from his group Saturday afternoon.

“This young man made our task a little less difficult by staying in place and having some backcountry winter survival knowledge,” says South Cariboo Search & Rescue.

South Cariboo SAR along with RCMP were called to the area of Spanish Lake North East of Canim Lake on Saturday night for a snowmobiler overdue for return.

The stranded sledder was a 17-year-old boy who was supposed to return to a parking lot to meet his friends and family but failed to do so prompting a call to 100 Mile House RCMP and a SAR team.

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Some of the party remained on the hill and began searching for the boy while others left to find help.

At approximately 10:34 pm a message was received from SAR that they had located the teen in good condition and were transporting him off the mountain.

“We would like to commend the 17-year-old missing snowmobiler from the search last night. This young man did everything right after things went wrong. He got separated from his group and after multiple failed attempts to get back out of the area, the way he got into it and not knowing the terrain and area, he parked his sled in a wide-open area, walked over to a nearby treed area and built himself an incredible snow cave to spend the night,” said the South Cariboo SAR in a Facebook post.

100 Mile House RCMP wishes to thank the South Cariboo SAR team for their professionalism and for bringing this search to another positive outcome.

“We in the south Cariboo are very fortunate to have such a dedicated group of well-trained volunteers to assist in times of need,” says Cpl. Ryder Birtwhistle.

In their Facebook post, the SAR team says they would like to remind everyone to be prepared for unexpected scenarios such as this one.