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New monument includes names of Cranbrook woman, Kimberley man

The names of Cynthia Griffith and John Craig among the 17 on monument honouring B.C. search and rescue volunteers
BC honours Search and Rescue teams with volunteer memorial at th
NDP leader John Horgan

Barry Coulter

With files from Tom Fletcher/Black Press

A monument recognizing the sacrifice of fallen search and rescue members unveilded in the Garden of Honour on the B.C. legislature grounds contains the name of two local volunteers who died in a plane crash more than 33 years ago.

Search and rescue volunteers gathered from across B.C. and as far away as Saskatchewan Thursday, March 3, for the unveiling of the monument, which bears the names of 17 search and rescue personnel who lost their lives during searches over the past 50 years.

On October 1, 1983, a four-seater search and rescue training flight went down in the St. Mary's Lake area. In the crash and ensuing fire, Cynthia Griffith from Cranbrook and John Craig from Kimberley lost their lives. Two others, Bill Quilley and Blair Farish, suffered fractures and extensive burns requiring multiple surgeries and three months hospitalization in Calgary Foothills Hospital Burn Unit and a further several years of rehabilitation.

The incident is recounted in detail in Farish's recent book "The Clockwatcher," available at many locations in Cranbrook.

Pictured: Pieces of wreckage still serve as a memorial to the the crash of a PEP Air training flight in October, 1983, where Cynthia Griffith from Cranbrook and John Craig from Kimberley lost their lives.

The Garden of Honour, on the south side of the B.C. legislature, has monuments for police, firefighters and paramedics who have died in the line of duty.

"Trained volunteers are the first, and sometimes the only rescuers to arrive to help people in trouble," said Chris Kelly, president of the B.C. Search and Rescue Association. "This monument is a solemn reminder that despite extensive safety programs, their work can still be dangerous."

More than 4,400 search and rescue volunteers are currently working in B.C..

The monument was carved from 17,000 pounds of granite, and symbolizes the 17 names inscribed on it. They are:

Lyle Saunders, Provincial Emergency Program Air (PEP Air), Merritt, 1967

Gary Daniels, PEP Air, 1967

Reginald Richard Hunt, PEP Air, 1970

Benjamin Hunt, PEP Air, 1970.

Norman Wilson, PEP Air, Alert Bay, 1970

John Craig, PEP Air, Cranbrook, 1983

Bob McGregor, North Shore Rescue, 1989

Marcel Andrie, Lions Bay Search and Rescue, 1994

Bill Bing, PEP Air, Nelson, 1996

Sheilah Sweatman, Nelson Search and Rescue, 2011

Angie Nemeth, Halfmoon Bay, 2012

Victor E. Hanuse, PEP Air, Alert Bay, 1970

Cynthia Griffith, PEP Air, Cranbrook, 1983

Eric Buss, Bulkley Valley Search and Rescue, 1991

Rick Dendys, PEP Air, Nelson, 1996

Rick Ayotte, PEP Air, Nelson, 1996

Beatrice Sorensen, Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, Halfmoon Bay, 2012