*** Vernon SAR Assist Police in Recovering Suspect ***
        *** Vernon SAR Recover Police Suspect ***

Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 18:47:15 -0800
From: Don Blakely <blakely1@junction.net>
To: sarinfo@istar.ca
Subject: Vernon SAR Recover Police Suspect

On February 8, 1998 at approximately 0300 hrs a member of the the RCMP
Detachment in Lumby BC was chasing a suspected impaired driver just east
of that Village. At one point the suspect struck a tow truck which was
towing another vehicle out of the ditch. The suspects car came to a
momentary stop but then continued on when the pursueing police cruiser
came around the corner.

At a spot approximately 13km East of Lumby the suspects car went out of
control and crashed at the side of the road. As the police cruiser
pulled up to the suspects vehicle the suspect jumped out of his vehicle
and leaped over a concrete barrier. In the pitch darkness the suspect
began running into what he believed was the edge of a forest. It was in
fact the edge of a nearly vertical 165 foot cliff and the suspect ran
right over the edge.

The pursueing police officer saw the barrier and realized that there
must be a hazard in the vicinity. He called out a police K9 unit and
scouted the suspects tracks to the edge of the cliff. He could hear the
suspect moaning and, realizing what had happened, he initiated a request
for Vernon SAR to attend with their Rope Rescue Team.

The K9 unit which responded was first on the scene. The dog handler had
trained with Vernon SAR and had his own emergency response gear. He
rappelled over the edge and located the suspect lying within 2 feet of
the edge of the river. The suspect had serious injuries consisting of
broken legs, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, a concussion and a suspected
back injury. He was in shock and apparently very much under the
influence of alcohol. The suspect was floating in and out of
conciousness.

Vernon SAR responded with 37 members consisting of a Rope Rescue Team, a
Swift Water Rescue Team and several search teams for general manpower
support. An ambulance had arrived and was in radio contact with the
RCMP Officer, who was providing initial First Aid to the suspect.
Medical equipment was immediately lowered by Vernon SAR and a full
stretcher team with one nervous ambulance attendant immediately
followed.

As it was imperative to evcuate the subject by the speediest and safest
means possible Vernon SAR began to develop a series of three options
which it worked on simultaneously.  Once the subject was packaged
the best option then available would be used.
 
The first option was to initiate a traditional rope rescue response to
deliver immediate medical care and to evacuate the subject using a
traditional raising system with stretcher. Only one anchor was
available but it was a bomb-proof telephone pole. There was only an 18
foot distance from the cliff edge to the road barrier so a re-direct was
used to reduce the number of re-sets required in the raising system.
The shortage of anchors was solved by utilizing the small 1/2 inch gaps
between the barrier sections. For the belay lines steel jack handles
were put crossways to the gaps and secured by webbing and carabiner.

For the raising anchors 2 vehicles were moved end-on to the gaps
(utilizing standard safety procedures for the use of vehicles as anchors)
and the winch lines run through and cinched up tight to the other side
of the gaps. The anchors were completed by adding carabiners to the
ends of the winch cables. There was still the problem of a small haul
area, requiring a significant number of re-sets to the haul line.  In
addition the raise route was heavily vegetated and several outcrops
needed to be negotiated by the stretcher team. A team was put over the
edge to begin clearing the raising route.

The second option was to evacuate the subject by Vernon SAR's river boat
which was being deployed to a nearby boat landing.

The third option was initiated by deploying a large search team to the
lower site via a roundabout route that was several kilometers long - and
in some places involved hip-deep wading through the river.

A traditional Swift Water evacuation to the far bank was considered as
well. This option was quickly rejected as it involved significant
movement of the subject, exposed the subject to greater risk and would
only remove him to the far side of the river, which would then involve a
very rough ride in a 4x4 to the highway. A helicopter extraction from the
far side was considered but the available helicopters were socked-in by
bad weather.

Once the subject was packaged it was decision time. All factors taken
into consideration and with all the options except the boat option being
fully developed (the boat had not yet arrived on-scene) it was decided
to evacuate the subject via a large stretcher team, evacuating over the
land route to a point where the highway was acessible by the river
bank. This involved a carry over rough terrain and wading several
portions of the river (hip deep in some areas).

The subject was safely extracted, placed in an ambulance and transported
to Vernon Jubilee Hospital.

By all accounts the subject was extremely lucky to survive the
incident. Not only had he run over a 165 foot cliff but he had come
within feet of landing in the river and drowning. It is believed that
he survived because he hit several out croppings on the way down,
trading broken bones for a reduction in his velocity.

To sum everything up one police officer quipped "Thats the last time
he'll ever run from the police." Or for that matter, ever again . Once
again the RCMP, with the assistance of Vernon SAR, got its man.

Don Blakely
Vernon SAR

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