It was not the ending that Shuswap Search and Rescue members were hoping for.
The team was called out Saturday afternoon in response to a 911 call from a 10-year-old boy who reported he and his grandfather were snowmobiling in the Fly Hills area, when the grandfather suffered a medical emergency and was unconscious. Four Shuswap Search and Rescue (SAR) members responded including search manager Rob Udy, who brought in the team’s rapid response base RV unit, and volunteers Gordon Bose, Michael Thomson and Hiapo Poirier who participated in the effort, taking their snowmobiles into the site.
An air ambulance was also dispatched to the scene. Due to the terrain, the helicopter had to land some distance away; however, paramedics were able to hike in to the scene.
When the paramedics and SAR members arrived, the grandfather was deceased.
“It was really sad for the boy, it’s a pretty traumatic experience,” says John Schut of Shuswap Search and Rescue.
SAR members were then able to escort the boy’s father to the scene to pick up his son, as well as RCMP officers and the coroner.
RCMP are conducting an investigation; however, there is no indication of anything suspicious.
A cause of death is still to be determined.