Sask. RCMP locate hunter lost in the wilderness

Two RCMP members had to search woods in Northern Saskatchewan to rescue a hunter who had lost his way. (Sask. RCMP)

RCMP in northern Saskatchewan was able to rescue a hunter who got lost in the woods around Patuanak.

A call came in around 9:30 p.m. on November 14, 2022, reporting a 60-year-old man had been out hunting with a friend but hadn’t been heard from in 30 minutes, according to an RCMP news release.

The man was last seen about 40 kilometres south of Pantuanak in a remote area, RCMP said.

Patuanak is about 400 kilometres north of North Battleford.

“(The missing man) wasn’t new to the bush, but anytime someone’s not heard from in the wilderness, it’s a big deal,” Cst. Kirk Ingham said in the news release.

“Based on the community response, wanting to help, they knew this was a dire situation. If he wasn’t found that night, the situation would be different in the morning.”

Ingham said they got a team together, fueled up the vehicles and headed out.

“We ran into a member of the Canadian Rangers and they were loading up with similar supplies and making their way to assist as well,” he said.

When they arrived at the scene, RCMP spoke with the friend of the missing man to find out where the hunter had entered the woods.

“We didn’t really have too much to go off of. One guy who’d seen him that day, which was his hunting buddy there,” Ingham said in the release.

“He did have survival equipment with him. A little bit of equipment to make a fire. He had a machete. He only had one bottle of water and a thermos full of tea as far as liquids go, so we figured he was running low on that.”

They attempted to make contact with the man, but after five minutes with no response, two RCMP members entered the wooded area.

“Northern Saskatchewan can be very treacherous, even for an experienced person,” Ingham said.

“Being so far north, we get dark extremely quickly. By the time we got the call, it was already completely dark. No ambient light coming in. The sun had set and was long set. We knew we had to get out there right away, because as the sun stays set, even when we have a mild day, temperature-wise, when night rolls around and that sun goes away, it can get extremely cold.”

About 10 minutes after they entered the woods, one RCMP member heard something.

“We had a couple of flares and followed the trail and called out his name. We followed the trail. Two to 300 yards in, we started hearing a faint response to our calls,” Cst. Zach Mann said in the news release.

“I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. It could’ve been ‘hey’ or ‘over here’. When we first heard it, it was very faint. I was the only one to hear it. The other (officer) didn’t hear it...we were able to keep calling him and eventually get a sense of his direction, and where his voice was coming from. 500 yards in, we were able to hear him better. Once we could get him loud enough, we came off the trail and were able to locate him.”

It took another 15 minutes before police could reach him, and Mann said the hunter was soaking wet and asking for water.

“We were able to follow our path back. There was a lot of deadfall. It's easy to lose your trail if you’re not careful. (Ingham) flipped on the (police vehicle) sirens a few times to help with the sense of direction.”

The man slowly walked out of the woods with the RCMP.

“(The missing man) seemed a little bit shaken up for sure. His pants were so soaking wet and frozen. They were stiff into peaks. And having my two (officers) come out of there unscathed and not too cold and safe was another big thing for me, too,” Ingham said.

Mann said teamwork was essential to the rescue.

“The great thing about small, northern detachments is that even though you’re brand new, you’re still essential. There are no specialized resources you can get right away. You’re going to be one of the (officers) that’s responding. You have to learn as you go.”