Before I tell you about this true survival story from the Canadian Wilderness, let me tell you a bit about the beautiful country to the north of the United States – Canada.

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Canada is the largest country in the Western Hemisphere and 2nd largest country in the world after the Soviet Union. Canada covers 3,831,033 square miles but its population rates are down in 30th place or so. Much of Canada is uninhabited because of the steep terrain and disagreeable weather.

It borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Canada is so big it’s complimented with 06 different time zones.

Canada and the United States share a 5,500-mile long border including the border along Alaska.

Canada is complimented with 06 Regions. The 06 Regions are the Atlantic Region, Canadian Shield, Great Lakes – Saint Lawrence Lowlands, Interior Plaines, Cordillera, and Arctic.

Canada is made up of 10 Provinces and 02 Territories. The 10 Provinces are British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Foundland, New Brunswick (family of lost hikers), Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The 02 Territories are the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territory.

01 of 10 Provinces, New Brunswick lies northeast of Maine – USA, west of Nova Scotia, and south of Quebec. Its Capitol is Fredericton located in southcentral New Brunswick. Among other Provinces, New Brunswick is ranked 8th in size with 28,354 square miles. New Brunswick is complimented with 1,410-miles of varied coastline of jagged rock, cliffs, bays, inlets, lagoons,…   New Brunswick interior includes the Central Highlands which is an extension of the Appalachian Mountain Range that goes deep into the United States. Other regions include the Northern Uplands and Southern Highlands with their high ground that slope into the last region, the Coastal Lowlands. New Brunswick river system offers access to all parts of its interior that supports its various industries. It’s also complimented with several major lakes and smaller lakes to include several islands along its coast.

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Family Of 05 Lost In The Wilderness!

On Saturday (18 May 2019), an entire family of 05 became lost in the Canadian wilderness. A family of 05 set out on a short hike, anticipating to return later in the day.

The family was reported to be hiking on an established trail near Saint John, New Brunswick.

During their hike, there was a break-in-contact where one of the family members became separated. The other 04 family members left the trail together and bravely went into the wilderness looking for their 5^th family member. Unable to find their family member, the 04 realized they were lost.

The 05 family members were reported to be wearing only light clothing and carrying no emergency survival gear.

But luck being on their side, the 04 lost family members had a cell phone. And even more lucky in the unforgiving Canadian wilderness, they were within range of a cell phone tower.

At approximately 1700 hours (5pm) on Saturday, one of the family members made an emergency call to the world famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who in turn alerted Welsford Volunteer Fire Department.

The Welsford Volunteer Fire Department attempted to locate the lost family by getting descriptions of the terrain around them. The Welsford Volunteer Fire Department didn’t locate them this way but got a general location using the cell signal from their cell phone. Immediately, 11 firefighters from the Welsford Volunteer Fire Department were deployed to the area where the lost family were believed to be located. But the 11 firefighters couldn’t find any of the lost family members. According to Welsford Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Dave McCready “There’s so many lakes and so many streams that our search crews weren’t meeting up with the party.”

The Welsford Volunteer Fire Department advised the family members to start a fire so the searchers could see the rising smoke from a distance. But because of the weather (humidity, winds, wind direction, terrain,…) the smoke was kept down instead of rising.

As temperatures dropped, the search was intensified. A helicopter was called in to assist in the search. Temperatures were expected to reach 02-degrees Celsius (35.6-degrees Fahrenheit) that night. Again, all 05 family members were only wearing light clothing and none had any emergency survival gear. The New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization called the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Halifax and a helicopter was deployed to the search area.

Meanwhile the separated 5^th family member was alone and trekking through the Canadian wilderness attempting to make his way back to safety.

At approximately 0100 hours (1am), the rescue helicopter sighted the 04 members of the family at Cochrane Lane Cliffs, north of Saint John. The 04 family members were secured and lifted up into the rescue helicopter and taken to a nearby waiting ambulance where they were taken to the hospital.

With respect to Cochrane Lane Cliffs, where the 04 family members were found, Fire Chief Dave McCready described this area as “very rugged terrain, very wooded, very rocky.” “It’s actually a world-class climbing site, so it’s popular and there are special trails, marked trails, that lead climbers to their climbing sites.”

That wording ‘It’s actually a world-class climbing site…’ – this tells me the family members were very very lucky.

That terrain itself, didn’t cause serious injuries to them or kill any of them.

The 04 family members were rescued while the 5^th family member walked-out of the wilderness to safety on his own. At the time of the rescue it was reported that the cell phone they were using, only had 01% power remaining. It is recorded: “We could tell in their voices when the helicopter was flying overhead that they were very excited,” stated Fire Chief Dave McCready.

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Could This Near Tragedy Be Avoided?

The family of five was no doubt close and decided on a hike together in the Canadian wilderness in the Province of New Brunswick. The family had no intention of a prolonged hike because they were all wearing light clothing and no one had any extra overnight gear and emergency gear. But one item they smartly carried was a cell phone that was luckily still within range of a cell tower. Think of the outcome if they had no cell phone.

Now let me humbly cover some of the survival actions the family of 05 should have done prior & during their hiking trip.

1. Even though it was an anticipated short hike, each family member should still carry a backpack that has items in it to satisfy the 8 Elements of Survival (Fire, Water, Shelter, First-Aid, Signal, Food, Weapons and Navigation). Shelter not only includes overhead shelter items but also includes protective clothing (head to toe)

2. All personnel use Walking Staffs or Trekking Poles for self-defense and aids in taking off thousands of pounds of stress off the joints (feet, ankles, knees, hips) while trekking through the wilderness. See Item 04

3. Since there are 05 in the party of hikers walking an established trail, establish a Point Man and a Tail Gunner. The Point Man (most experienced) is in front sets the slow pace and keeps a look-out for wild animals and hazards on the trail. Periodically, the Point Man taps the top of his head asking for a ‘headcount.’ The Tail Gunner (2^nd most experienced) is at the rear of the formation and INSURES accountability of all personnel at all times. When the arm & hand signal of the tap on the head is passed back (headcount), the Tail Gunner taps the person ahead of him and verbally counts “01” and count is passed up to the Point Man.  Point Man get the ‘tap of 04’ and he’s 05 and he knows accountability is 100% and gives a ‘thumbs up’ to everybody behind him. This builds teamwork and camaraderie.

MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: This constant accountability survival action should be adopted by the Boy Scouts. It happens too often. In news headlines – ‘Boy Scout Lost’ or ‘Boy Scout Missing’ or ‘Boy Scout Vanishes’… How can Scout Leaders lose a boy scout in the wilderness. In some cases, the boy scout came up missing and never seen again. It’s the responsibility of all Scout Leaders to maintain constant accountability for all scouts under their care.

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4. Everyone carries a primary and secondary weapon (adults only – rifle and pistol). The weapons are used for self-defense, as a long-range signal device and emergency SOS device (03 shots).

5. When aware you’re lost – STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP and make camp. The SAR (Search And Rescue) will always start at your LKP (Last Known Point). The more you wander in the wilderness, the search area expands immensely and the greater chances of not getting found and getting hurt or killed by Mother Nature and all She possesses. When the 5^th family member became separated – STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP where you are instead of wandering off. He could still be within ear shot of the other family members. And this near tragedy avoided from the beginning. See Item 07.

MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: The news report of this family’s trex through the Canadian wilderness was not detailed. I do not know if they were wandering the wilderness at night. Wandering the wilderness at night is bad joo joo. In other words, wandering the wilderness at night – ‘You’re asking for it.’ According to the news report the family of 04 was wandering in the area of Cochrane Lane Cliffs. Does the word ‘CLIFF’ warn you of something? If the 04 family members were wandering at night, they were VERY LUCKY that any or all of them didn’t walk off a cliff – thus sure death (any fall over 50-feet – you’re dead).

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6. Even though the 05 family members were hiking on an established trail, a detailed map is of the entire area is highly recommended. A topographic map (with a scale of 1:25,000 or 1:50,000) of their trek would have had the Search And Rescue (SAR) at their location real quick. If the user knew how to read the map and knew their exact location every step of the way knew how to plot Military Grid Coordinates and / or Geographical Coordinates (Latitude, Longitude – Degrees, Minutes and Seconds), and call-in the coordinates to the SAR Team – BAAM, you got a quick rescue within minutes. See “09 NEVER Get Lost Navigation Tricks!”

7. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have all the members carry a long-range Walkie-Talkie with them. They’re not for playing around. But when a break-in-contact occurs (accidental or deliberate), break them babies out of your backpack (see Item 01). I’ve been sending Walkie-Talkies out to my customers since the 1990s and still do today. See “09 NEVER Get Lost Navigation Tricks!”

Here are a few blog posts links that are worthy of your survival attention:

• “How To Plan Your Outdoor Adventure!”
• “09 NEVER Get Lost Navigation Tricks!”
• “15 Isolated Lone Survivors Who Beat The Killer Odds!”
• “12 Real Survival Tragedies You Have To Know!”
• “15 Emergency Killer Cold Survival Tricks You Gotta Know!”
• “Save My Life… Survival Program!”

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I also suggest that you go to the “Table Of Contents” and take a good look over the other wilderness survival blog posts under the Category – ‘Wilderness Survival.’

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Article Source:  CBS News

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