A trip into the remote backcountry southwest of the city turned into a nightmare for a 62-year-old Prince George man when his truck got stuck on a snowy logging road.
Stanley Delong, 62, left his family at 8 a.m. Tuesday and drove in his pickup truck along the Pelican Forest Service Road about 65 kilometres from Prince George for a day trip. When he did not return later in the day as planned, his wife called the RCMP, triggering a two-day search that had a happy ending when he was found safe after spending two frigid nights alone in the woods.
The weather Tuesday and Wednesday was clear but unseasonably cold, with high wind chills. The high Tuesday was only -1.4 C and the low dropped to -9 C with wind gusts up to 68 kilometres per hour. It got even colder Wednesday night/Thursday morning with the mercury dropping to -12 C with a 46 kph wind.
Dave Merritt of Prince George Search and Rescue said 25 members responded to the RCMP’s call to join the search and they were backed by six volunteers from the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association who did flyovers in privately-owned aircraft, aided by the RCMP helicopter. Merritt said one of the CASARA pilots on Tuesday spotted Delong’s Chevy pickup on a side road about 2 ½ km from the Pelican Forestry Service Road. An RCMP ground search team found Delong early Thursday morning, about 1 ½ km from his vehicle, near the Bobtail Recreation Site
“He got stuck in the snow,” said Merritt. “In the morning the snow is hard and you can drive on it but it gets soft in the afternoon and you just sink into it and once you’re stuck you can’t just drive out. Where it’s shaded, there’s still a couple feet of snow, but where it’s not shaded, it's bare and mud.”
Delong is familiar with the area and he told his wife he planned to cross the Chilako River at the 42-kilometre mark, which gave searchers some idea of where he was.
Because there is no cell service away from most northern B.C. highway corridors, Merritt says backcountry users should consider investing in a global positioning satellite-enabled two-communications device, which allows users to send distress signals or check-in update messages. They allow searchers to accurately pinpoint the caller’s location and communicate with the lost party.
Delong slept in his truck the first night and found a shelter to wait out his second night. Merritt said the purpose of his trip was just to explore the territory and not to go fishing, as was reported in RCMP press releases.
“He was cold and tired but he did find some shelter and he spent the night to warm himself up,” said Merritt. “Other than being a little cold and hungry he was pretty good overall. I don’t know if he found a cabin or a lean-to but he got out of the elements to some degree.
“We always tell people when you do get stuck, stay with your vehicle. That’s always a better idea. The only tweak I would have done would be to stay with the vehicle, build a big fire and stay warm there. When we found the vehicle we would have found him and he wouldn’t have had a second night out.”
Merritt said PGSAR sometimes uses drones to aid in searches but usually relies on the RCMP’s supply of drones because they have them in abundance and have more people well-trained to fly them, but they were not used in this case.
“Once you put a drone in the air we can’t put CASARA or the RCMP helicopter in the air,” Merritt said. “They’re also limited in their range and the temperatures so we don’t use them often, but they’re becoming more popular in B.C. If you know roughly how far away he is, they’re perfect, but we had an area off the Pelican road that was huge and the planes and helicopter can cover more area so much faster.”
Quesnel Search and Rescue was also engaged because the Pelican road leads to Blackwater Road, which is an alternate route to Quesnel.
Merritt advises anyone heading into rural areas for a day trip carry the 10 essentials of backcountry travel – extra food and water, additional clothing, thermal blanket/sleeping bag and plastic bag, first-aid kit, headlamp with spare batteries, whistle, waterproof matches or lighter, map and compass, knife/multi tool, communications device (cell phone, satellite phone or SPOT/inReach/Zoleo two-way GPS).
“At this time of year we always tell people to leave a trip plan, tell somebody where you’re going and carry the 10 essentials,” said Merritt. “This gentleman did; he left good directions with where he was going what he was doing. It just took us awhile to find his vehicle. A two-way satellite communication device is the way to go.”
Merritt has some advice for anybody thinking about venturing into the woods.
“Be prepared for the unexpected,” he said. “This time of year logging roads are snowy, they’re dry, they’re wet, they’re muddy. If you have a come-a-long (hand winch) or winch on your vehicle make sure it’s in good working order.”
PGSAR gained 14 new members last year and has a pool of 65 volunteers trained to join searches. CASARA’s Prince George branch has about 30 volunteers and Merritt said that organization is always looking for more to bolster the ranks.
