Cold and wet, but safe. Missing mushroom picker Heather Thompson, her 20-month-old daughter Erika and dog Monty were found near Stewart Lake north of Duck Lake just after noon Thursday, October 25. Search officials are calling the coordinated effort to find the missing woman and her daughter an across-the-board success.
The search began Wednesday evening after family noted Thompson had failed to return from mushroom picking that morning. Laurence Edwards is the president of Powell River Search and Rescue and he joined approximately 20 volunteer searchers.
“There’s something like 15 trails in the area,” said Edwards. “We were out until 3:30 am but then we had to come back get ourselves organized. We were back up there for 7 o’clock this morning.”
The local searchers were joined by search and rescue teams from neighbouring communities and local volunteers. When the search resumed in the morning, there were over 50 people involved, he said.
Don McLeod, search and rescue manager from Powell River who helped organize the search for Thompson, is pleased with the community response.
“We had probably 30 volunteers from the island and peninsula mutual aid and quite a few volunteers, so it was a really good turn out,” said McLeod. Organizations from the Sunshine Coast as well as Vancouver Island participate in a partnership where communities will send additional search and rescue teams to neighbouring communities when in need.
“They came over this morning on the first ferries,” said McLeod. “I had four members from Sechelt, eight members from Campbell River and at least two dozen members from Comox, including a dog handler and dog and another SAR manager.”
The RCMP committed their helicopter to the search effort. Additionally, the RCMP were planning on bringing more searchers in from Comox if they were needed, said Edwards.
McLeod said that because they hadn’t found Thompson by 10 am, he was preparing to send out more searchers to aid in the search. Four additional SAR teams were on standby and waiting, said Edwards.
“It became a very important issue because we were dealing with a 20-month-old child,” said Edwards. “Not to dismiss the mother, but as soon as a child is involved it was so vital we get as many people into the area as fast as possible.”
Ron Fuller was getting ready for work Thursday morning when he heard about Thompson’s 20-month-old daughter spending the night in the woods.
“I phoned up my brother and said instead of working today let's go out in the woods and see if we can help,” said Fuller, who owns a woodlot in the area along with his brother. “I always hear about lost hikers and mushroom pickers, but with a 20-month-old baby I thought they’re going to need some serious manpower out there to find her today.”
Fuller, who said he was “pretty bush savvy and wouldn’t get lost,” discussed a search strategy with his brother on the way up to the lake.
“It’s just human nature to always go downhill. To walk up hill is more effort so everyone walks downhill,” said Fuller.
Fuller took a compass reading and started walking west through the bush calling out her name every couple hundred feet. After walking through the bush for three hours he finally heard a faint yell in response and her dog barking.
Fuller had a cellphone and walkie-talkie with him. He contacted the base station on Duck Lake Road when he found Thompson.
Edwards said Thompson was found at Stewart Lake, which he described as a “little tiny lake quite a way up. Whether she got turned around and disoriented I don’t know, because we weren’t able to speak to her personally. Once she was in the RCMP helicopter they flew her straight to the hospital. I understand she’s not injured in any way, but she was pretty cold and hungry. She had the good sense to not try to wander around at night, to stop and hunker down. She started moving to warm up first light.”
An RCMP helicopter flew Thompson and her baby to Powell River General Hospital.
Both Ryan Thoms, coordinator for Powell River Regional Emergency Program, and Edwards said that the outpouring of community concern and donations helped the success of the search.
“On behalf of the Powell River Search and Rescue I would like to express my thanks for all the businesses and organizations that offered assistance,” said Edwards. “It shows what a wonderful community spirit Powell River has.”
Search resumes for mushroom picker
Public asked not to rush to scene to help
Powell River Search and Rescue and the RCMP resumed their search at 7 am this morning for a missing Powell River woman and her 20-month-old daughter. They are asking the public not to rush in to help.
“Civilian help is something RCMP are asking not to happen,” said Gary Jacques from Powell River Search and Rescue. “We have trained dogs coming in for a search and the more human scent in the bush the less likely the dogs will find her. The last thing we need is to lose other members of the public. Safety is important here...Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”
Powell River RCMP were notified at 5 pm yesterday that Heather Thompson, 31, and her daughter Erika had not returned from mushroom picking in the area around Duck Lake east of Powell River.
At approximately 9 pm, searchers located Thompson’s van 13.5 kilometres up Branch 1 off Duck Lake Forest Service Road approximately 10 kilometres east of Powell River. Her cellphone was discovered inside the vehicle. The Duck Lake area has an intricate trail system for hiking and mountain biking in the backcountry. The search was called off at 3 am because of poor conditions.
Joining the search this morning are Search and Rescue teams from Comox, Sechelt and RCMP Air Services from Vancouver.
