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
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
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.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.