*** Bowen Island Search for 5 Children & 1 Adult ***

From: Martin Colwell
Lions Bay Search & Rescue
22nd January 1996.

Bowen Island, Howe Sound - Near Vancouver, BC. 

At 2045hrs on Sunday 21st January 1996 a party of five local children, ages
approx. 9 to 11 year olds, and one adult male, age 46, were reported overdue
from a toboganning trip on Bowen Island's Mount Gardner, 716m/2350ft. Recent
snowfall had lightly covered the mountain, followed by freeze-thawing and
re-freezing under a fairly clear cold night sky.

A team of 10 North Shore Rescue and 9 Lions Bay SAR members immediately
responded to the call and were transported by water taxi and van to the
Bowen Island Firehall, the designated the Incident Command Post. The RCM
Police Dog Service and the RCMP motor vessel 'Lindsey' also provided
assistance.

Six search teams were despatched to night-search the major trails while
4-wheel drives and trucks were used to patrol the access roads surrounding
the probable search areas. A Sound Sweep was instigated at one minute
intervals, while the dog team was permitted to move on ahead on one of the
trails. Numerous footprints and toboggan tracks were found, but none left
the immediate trail system.

Family members gathered at the firehall, a radio relay system was attempted,
without success, and Coquitlam SAR notified to be on standby for 0530hrs.
The MV 'Lindsey' was requested to patrol the eastern shore of Bowen Island
and listen for signs of the missing party.

At 0230hrs on Monday 22nd of January the RCMP dog team, closely followed by
a Lions Bay SAR team, made voice contact with the subjects, at approximately
520m/1700ft level, on the west side of Mt Gardner's summit. The children and
the adult were cold and wet but otherwise unharmed, having sheltered in the
same location for nearly five hours. They were given dry clothes and then
quickly escorted to the trail system and the nearest roadhead.

The subjects had lost the trail as they climbed higher in search of better
snow. Knowing there were cliffs in many areas they decided to stay put
until daylight and wait for help. An RCMP 4-wheel drive took the party off
the mountain and back to waiting family members at the firehall, where hot
chocolate and granola bars quickly revived the childrens' spirits.

By 0600hrs the SAR teams had completed the operation, just as a new storm
system hit the region, depositing significant quantities of fresh snow on
the local mountains, all the way down to sea level...

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