Missing man found after wandering for days in White Rock Lake fire zone

A 35-year-old man from outside of B.C. was found in a ditch near Falkland after wandering for five days in the White Rock Lake fire zone.

Police were conducting security patrols on Saturday, Aug. 28, when they found an abandoned pickup truck that was high-centred on a fallen tree on Paxton Valley Road.

Officers found a cell phone inside the truck and were able to contact relatives who said the man had been missing for days and had mental health issues.

Other police working in the area were alerted and asked to keep an eye out for the missing man.

“Several kilometres away near Falkland, police found the man lying in a ditch, conscious but in need of medical attention,” states a news release from the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP detachment.

“The man explained that, after his truck became stuck, he tried to walk out but became lost and disorientated in the bush and had wandered for nearly five days before police found him. B.C. Ambulance Service attended and transported the man to hospital.”

People should stay away from fire zones because of the unsafe conditions there, the RCMP warn.

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