August 24

14 C Cloudy

 Off tp Coop Bowling tournament.

Had a nice visit with our Daughter in law from Vanderhoof yesterday and last night. She has to return today.

The temperature was just below freezing at night and just above during the daytime, many of the leaves were already off the deciduous trees; all in all not bad conditions.  

THE SEARCH

  The  next morning I was in the office a few minutes after four, it was too early to tell exactly what the weather would be like, but no snow was falling and the thermometer was registering ten below (Fahrenheit).  While I waited I prepared a map for my own use, I only had a general idea of where the hunter had disappeared.  What I did know was that he had been across the Crooked River and he and his party were hunting both sides of the logging road that ran parallel to the direction of the river so aptly named.  The road ran almost due north and south for over twenty miles and on the average was about a half mile west of the river.

  Constable Sweeny arrived a few minutes before five, I was relieved to see that he was dressed in suitable clothes; his police issued parka and fur lined cap were the only things that identified who he was.  We loaded up his cruiser with the items I had laid out and headed north up the Hart Highway.  As he drove Constable Sweeny filled me in on the information that he had; the hunting party consisted of five men, the one that was lost was the oldest at age sixty; they had started their hunt where the bridge crossed the river, one man taking the area between the river and the road; and one man (the lost one) across the road. They were to make their way south.  One man was left to patrol the logging road and the other two went south on the road for about three miles; their job was to work north on both sides of the road back towards the other two. 

  The two on the river side made contact about two hours after starting out and walked out to the road joining the one patrolling the road. The man going north walked out at the bridge area about an hour later.  Their friend who had headed south from across the road never showed up.  The four after waiting a short while walked south on the road figuring the missing man had continued on south and would eventually return to the road.

  We arrived at the turnoff from the highway and proceeded across the wooden bridge. The four men from the hunting party and one car load of the search party had arrived just ahead of us.  The Constable and I drew the four men to one side and had them retell the previous days events.  Their story was the same with the addition that after returning to their vehicle they had waited for a couple of hours intermittently honking their horn.  Finally they decided that their companion was lost so they drove back to the bridge and entered the bush together then spread out a few feet apart and headed south parallel to the road.  They thought they had seen tracks a few times.  They searched well into the afternoon then sent one man to phone while the rest patrolled the road.  When he returned they lit a fire near the bridge, two men stayed there and the other two went about five miles down the road and lit a second fire.  The four stayed with the two fires throughout the night.