Missing Sask. mushroom picker found dead
The search for a missing 74-year-old woman lost in the forest northeast of Smeaton, Sask. ended after her body was discovered Sunday.
The family of Lois Chartrand confirmed to CTV News the woman's body was found Sunday afternoon, approximately one kilometre from the RCMP mobile command centre.
RCMP say Chartrand was last seen around 11 a.m. on Aug. 4 when she left a quad trail to go pick mushrooms in the forest. Chartrand and her friend had two-way radios with them but lost sight of each other.
RCMP mobilized a search for Chartrand the day she went missing. The last contact they had with her on the two-way radio was around 6 a.m. on Aug. 5.
RCMP believe she survived one night alone in the forest but a search team was unable to locate her.
Chartrand was from White Fox. She went missing in a densely forested area 32 kilometres northeast of Smeaton, near the Hanson Lake Road.
Her husband Lorne Terry says Chartrand was an experienced picker and familiar with the area where she went missing.
The couple received an income from picking mushrooms, fiddleheads and wild berries.
The family says they are grateful to everyone who assisted in the 11-day search.
Saskatchewan RCMP say several police K9 teams, Alberta RCMP/ helicopter air support and the Saskatoon Police Service and air support assisted in the search. As well as the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, Search and Rescue Saskatchewan Association of Volunteers (SARSAV) Civilian Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) and Heli Recon.
“We also thank community members and Lois’s loved ones, who – despite the stressful circumstances – ensured all searchers were fed and supported,” an RCMP news release said.
Several volunteers from the nearby community helped search the forest. Local businesses and people also donated food and supplies to support the search efforts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."