Missing dog-walking woman found

A local woman spent a night caught out of doors last weekend with worried family members hunting for her.

Police reported that the 56-year-old Prince George woman had taken her seven dogs for an outing on a Forest Service Road about 30 kilometres west of the city on Saturday. She was due back that night by 6 p.m.

"One of the dogs took chase after a bear, causing the female to search for the dog for two hours," said Prince George RCMP spokesman Const. Mike Flewelling.

"The dog was located, immobilized due to a hip injury [not involving the bear] near a swamp. The female packed the dog out to higher ground where she made camp for the evening."

It was 3:47 a.m. Sunday before her worried husband finally gave up his own solo search and called in authorities. The RCMP responded by calling in Prince George Search and Rescue (PGSAR) as well as the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association. The Prince George Amateur Radio Association also assisted the ground searchers.

"It was the aircraft that found her truck first, and from there we were able to send in the ground guys," said PGSAR president Jeff Smedley.

The truck's location was discovered at about 9 a.m. and the woman was located about two hours later.

Ground searchers set up a perimeter, also engaged in a grid-patterned search, and used sound attraction techniques that worked.

"We got voice contact with her first," said Smedley. "We heard her from about 600 metres away, got a direction, and from there it was a simple thing to draw in on her location. She was about two and a half kilometres from her truck."

Authorities commended the woman for leaving good instructions with her husband about her destination, should anything go wrong, and for staying in one spot.

She did not have any fire-starter materials, however. All hikers are urged to assume, when setting off on a short walk in the woods, to imagine an emergency that keeps them out overnight. That planning should always include waterproof matches, striker, and other light tools (knife, flashlight, etc.).

She correctly assessed her need for a shelter, building a makeshift lean-to and cuddling her dogs for warmth. She told searchers that the onslaught of mosquitos was the only hardship, and that eased at about midnight when the cold set in.

"The bugs are pretty nasty and had been doing their chewing, but she was in pretty good condition," said Smedley.

The injured dog was in lesser shape. The pooch weighed 75 or 80 pounds, Smedley estimated, so rescuers used a stretcher to move the immobilized mutt.

"The female stated that she was not leaving her dog in the bush unable to defend itself and decided to stay where she was, knowing her husband would come looking for her," said Flewelling.