Snowmobilers missing in Shuswap rescued by helicopter

VERNON – A pair of snowmobilers spent two nights trapped in the snow in the bottom of a gulley in the Shuswap before being rescued by helicopter this morning, Jan. 23.

The two men were reported missing around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday and volunteers with Shuswap Search and Rescue were called out to find them.

They weren’t located until after dark yesterday near Shuswap Lake just west of Celista.

The pair were forced to spend a second night in the snow and cold until a helicopter rescue team from Vernon could pull them out this morning during daylight hours, Vernon Search and Rescue search manager Leigh Pearson says.

“The guys were down in a very steep gulley… they were not able to get back out which is a very common occurrence,” Pearson says. “The winch on the helicopter was used to get them out.”

He says the men were very tired and very cold, but in pretty good shape. They were turned over to B.C. Ambulance to be thoroughly checked over.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.