August 26

15C Clear.

Off to Juan de Fuca this am. Should be staying at home an doing some yard work.

Sidney won the competition yesterday.

M's team cane in second overall. Good job!

no easy task as each man would be encountering different obstacles and being challenged to keep a slow pace where it was easy going.

  We walked for three hours, took a break then walked for about another two and half hours when I got a call on my radio. “West 1 this is Police portable, over”.

  I replied “Police portable, this is West 1, go ahead”.

  Sweeney came back, “I just got a call on my police radio, our man has been found, repeat, the hunter has been found”.

  “Roger that Police portable, we will head everyone out to the road and organize pickup when all are accounted for. West 1 out”.

  I then called my two portables, “West 2 pass along, everyone hold, West 3 pass along everyone hold, West 1 out”.  I then cupped my hands and shouted to the searcher on my left, “Everyone halt, pass it on”!  I could hear my order being repeated down the line.  I then called the riverside crew, “River portable have you copied the last transmissions”?

  Back came the reply: “Roger West 1, we are heading to the road”.

  Next I called, “Road 1, did you copy”?

  He replied, “Yes, yes I did I’ll get our car”!

  “Road 1, get your car and gather your friends, go back to the bridge and each of you bring a vehicle slowly down the road, you will have to pick us up”.

  “Sure, sure we’re on our way”!

  I turned and headed towards the road, gathering my crew as I went.  An hour later the whole search group had reconvened at the morning’s starting point, I asked Constable Sweeney if he could tell us how our man had been found as it certainly wasn’t by our efforts.

  We gathered around and the Constable said, “I’ll tell you what I know, he apparently walked out onto the road near the first bridge across the Crooked River and walked into the Summit Lake Sawmill office.  They phoned my office and they radioed me and here we are”.

  We all just stared at each other, the bridge that was referred to was over twenty miles up stream!  We were all thinking how unlikely that we would have stretched our search that far.  While we mulled this over, Constable Sweeney thanked us as a group and said if he ever got lost, he hoped we would be the ones looking for him.  Everyone dispersed; the remaining four hunters headed south on the road to the sawmill and the Constable and I headed back out to the highway.

LATER

 A couple of days later, a police cruiser pulled up to our office, it was Constable Sweeney.  He said, “Thought you might like to hear the full story on the lost hunter”.

  I took him into our coffee room, poured two cups and we both took seats.

  “Here is what I’ve learned.” He said.  “The fellow stumbled out onto the road almost in the path of one of Summit Lake’s trucks they drove him to their office.  He said he had got separated from his friends the day before.  I interviewed him after I dropped you off, he took me out and showed me where he had been picked up.  Now this is what is really strange, he came out of the area that lies between the road we were on and the river!”

  I looked at him and he nodded, “That’s right the other side of the road! He doesn’t remember crossing the road but after he did he walked for over twenty miles with the river on one side and the road on the other. He says he never heard any vehicles and just walked a straight line using his compass to guide him.  He built a fire when it got dark and dozed through the night.”

  I asked, “Did he say anything about where he started from?”

  “No, I questioned him about that but he was rather vague, he allowed that he may have started off on the other side but reiterated he didn’t remember crossing the road.”

  “Do you think he may have had some sort of an attack?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, I suggested that he check in at the hospital but he insisted that he was perfectly fine other than being hungry and tired.  His friends don’t know what to make of it.” Sweeney smiled, “But I don’t think they will ask him on another hunting trip.”

  I said, “ Well thanks for telling me, I don’t think we should tell the logging crew that they lost a days work really for nothing.”

  He smiled, “Yep, I agree. Thanks again for your help.  Stop by whenever you’re in town, my treat next time.”