Police are crediting use of a piece of high-tech hiking equipment for the quick rescue Thursday of an elderly woman unable to walk out of the bush because she was injured.
They were notified at about 11:30 a.m. via a GPS locator that someone near Viking Peak in Sugarbowl-Grizzly Den Provincial Park was in distress. Five hours later she was airlifted from the Raven Lake area to the University Hospital of Northern BC for treatment.
Had her group - she was accompanied by three others who were able to walk out on their own - not been equipped with the device, it would have taken much longer to locate the 72-year-old woman, according to Prince George RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass.
"This is a fantastic example of how carrying a GPS locator resulted in the safe and successful rescue of a hiker in a remote wilderness area," Douglass said.
"Had this group of hikers not had a GPS locator, at minimum they would have spent the night in the cold and the injury would not have received treatment so soon.
"GPS locators are a great investment for those that love the outdoors."
Prince George Search and Rescue members were called in the help out after an RCMP officer was unable to locate the group at the trailhead. A helicopter chartered by Emergency Management B.C. located the four at about 4:30 p.m.
