Conservation officer’s effort saves man but not friend
Police are crediting a conservation officer’s extensive knowledge of the backcountry in saving a man whose friend drowned in Khartoum Lake, Wednesday January 21.
Powell River RCMP said they were alerted by friends and family after the men failed to return from a fishing trip. Not knowing which lake the two men had gone to, a local conservation officer joined the search.
The conservation officer, using his backcountry knowledge found the men’s truck parked at Khartoum Lake, saw an overturned boat drifting in the lake and heard a faint call for help.
The officer drove to Lois Lake Fish Hatchery and enlisted the help of staff who returned to the lake through a connecting channel to find a hypothermic man on the shore. Police say that he spent the night there after his boat overturned and could not hike out because of the rugged terrain. The man was taken to Powell River General Hospital for treatment.
But police said that the man’s friend, a 44-year-old who was not a strong swimmer, drowned in the frigid lake water. His body was recovered two days later.
No names have been released.
Setting it straight
An article about a generator at Malaspina Volunteer Fire Department, printed in last week’s Peak, stated the wrong location for the fire hall. The correct location is on Highway 101 at Black Point.
