Deja vu for searchers wrapping up second rescue for B.C. mushroom picker

TERRACE, B.C. – A mushroom picker is safe after spending two nights lost in the bush in northwestern British Columbia, but for searchers, his rescue was practically a reunion.

Smithers Search and Rescue spokesman Whitney Numan says the man in his 70s went missing in the Kispiox Valley, northwest of Smithers.

Numan says the man’s disappearance last Thursday came almost one year to the day that he became lost in the Nass Valley.

In the latest incident, Smithers rescuers worked with their counterparts in Houston, as well as an RCMP dog handler and a police helicopter as the full-scale search began Friday.

Team members say the man turned the wrong way when he tried to return to his truck after becoming separated from his family in the rugged area, and was found Saturday, hungry and thirsty, but otherwise OK.

Backcountry experts are reminding hikers to always travel with a buddy and carry a map and compass, and to stay put and wait for rescue if they get lost. (CFTK)