Lost hiker rescued with help from her whistle

PENTICTON – Thanks to an early distress call and a whistle, a disoriented hiker was rescued by helicopter last night. 

Yesterday, Sept. 2, a 54-year-old female got lost while hiking in the Cartwright Mountain area of Summerland.

Ten Penticton Search and Rescue members and a helicopter team mobilized after receiving the call at 5:35 p.m., says Randy Brown of PENSAR in a media release.

Search manager Ron Muir kept in contact with the hiker by phone. Muir instructed her to, "keep blowing your whistle every few minutes, we have help on the way. "

Muir advised the hiker to stay in an identifying area where she could be located, and to stay under cover because of the rain and cooler temperatures.

Brown says at about 7 p.m., when the ground team was setting up to deploy, the helicopter team went to a higher elevation where the hiker was spotted. When the helicopter landed, they quickly located and rescued her, with help from her whistle blasts.

The hiker was later released to health authorities for an assessment. The release did not include any further information about her condition.

“Things went so right here – the hiker knew when to call for help early, she stayed in one location, had a whistle which proved useful for searchers locating her and we had enough light to utilize our air operations.  For us – a happy ending,” Muir said.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.