Letter to the Editor

On Monday August 13, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Columbia Valley Search and Rescue (CVSAR) received a request from the RCMP to respond to a SPOT device activation in the Jumbo Pass area west of Invermere.

Given the information available at the time, the initial response was for a medical rescue at the Jumbo Hut. As more information became available, the scope of the incident expanded requiring the addition of mutual aid resources from neighbouring Search and Rescue teams. The search continued until Wednesday evening when Louise Baxter was found and reunited with her family at the Incident Command Post.

On behalf of the Incident Command Staff and the unpaid professionals who participated in the search, CVSAR would like to thank the RCMP, the businesses that provided accommodations and food, RK Heli Ski for use of their facility, BC Wildfire Service for their cooperation and sharing of their helicopter resources, Coldstream Helicopters, Elbow River Helicopters and their pilots, and lastly the volunteers. Both trained SAR volunteers from Kimberley, Cranbrook, Elkford, Golden, Revelstoke, Kaslo and Nelson, and those connected to Louise and her family who took time to participate.

CVSAR would also like to thank the community for their encouragement and local businesses who allowed their employees to take time away from their job to search for Louise.

CVSAR would like to take this opportunity to remind those recreating in our great outdoors to leave a detailed trip plan and prepare for unforeseen circumstances. Go to the www.adventuresmart.ca website for more information.

CVSAR is a member organization of the BC Search and Rescue Association (BCSARA) made up of highly trained volunteers who provide technical rescue and search responses from Spillimacheen to Canal Flats.

Steve Talsma, SAR Manager

Roslyn Johnson, Information Officer

Columbia Valley Search and Rescue

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