Police Dog Leads Rescuers to Lost Snowboarder

Chris Wallner | Post Tag for BackcountryBackcountry
A snowmobiler and snowboarder ran into some trouble in Canada’s backcountry!

According to Kelowna Now, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded to a call that a snowboarder was lost on Thompson Mountain in Alberta, Canada and used a police dog to rescue the 23-year-old man on Sunday, December 27th.  The Creston man was snowboarding with a friend who was on a snowmobile, which allowed them to easily access the backcountry terrain.

The Police Dog! Photo Credit: RCMP

The RCMP received a call from the man on the snowmobile after he became separated from his friend that was on a snowboard. Creston Search and Rescue and Nelson Search and Rescue, along with a police service dog and handler from nearby Cranbrook were called in to assist with the rescue. RCMP Cpl. Sullivan and police dog Denim skied into what was described as a dangerous gully area where they eventually found the missing man. The snowboarder was cold, but didn’t suffer any injuries.

“The terrain and conditions were quite treacherous; the young man may have been a bit shocky from hypothermia, as he kept moving ahead of me despite my calls out to him. Once I reached him, had it not been for a large SAR group essentially digging a way to walk out, we’d of all spent the night on the mountain,” said Cpl Sullivan.

Police dog Denim! Photo Credit: RCMP

The snowboarder got himself into some dangerous terrain, so search and rescue members had to create a long path through the deep snow to rescue the snowboarder and allow all parties to get out safely. SAR Volunteers described the terrain as an area where you don’t get out alive without assistance. RCMP is advising individuals to use caution while venturing out in the backcountry and take measure to ensure your safety.


Related Articles

One thought on “Police Dog Leads Rescuers to Lost Snowboarder

  1. I’d like to hear how the dog lead the SAR. I’ve been led out of being lost in fog by my dog before. He ran in front of me, kept looking back, and wouldn’t go the way I wanted to go. smart dog. I think he could smell the wet asphalt road.

Got an opinion? Let us know...