Crews locate missing Vernon hunters

VERNON – Two overdue hunters have been located following a search mission Monday. 

The men aged 48 and 54, went missing in the Beau Park area off Westside Road over the weekend.

Vernon search manager Leigh Pearson says they were supposed to return home by 9 p.m. Sunday. When they didn’t come back on schedule, 20 members of Vernon Search and Rescue launched a search mission at 9 a.m. Monday.

A few hours later, at 12 p.m., the wife of one of the men received a text from her husband saying they’d gotten their vehicle stuck and waited until daylight to dig it out.

“Once they managed to free the vehicle and as they were driving out of the bush into Westwold, they made contact as soon as they had cell service,” Pearson says.

Kamloops Search and Rescue was initially called out to help search from the opposite side of the mountain.

Given the cold weather, crews were concerned about the wellbeing of the two missing men.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

—This story was updated at 2 p.m. Nov. 24 to include more information from Vernon Search and Rescue.