On March 18, three hikers lost in the Kimberley Nature Park called for help.
Kimberley RCMP received the call at 11:13 pm from one of three hikers, as they were unable to navigate their way back. Police were able to determine they were located somewhere between Forest Crown and Trickle Creek Golf Course.
Police Dog Service along with five Kimberley Search and Rescue members began searching the area. The subjects were located after a couple of hours and by 2 a.m. they were safely back. Although very cold and wet the subjects were not injured and medical attention was not required.
The subjects from Edmonton had frequented the area before, but with the heavy snow and darkness, they took some wrong turns leading them to call for help.
"The men were not prepared and had the temperature been colder or they were unable to summon help, the outcome could have been tragic," said Alison Lomon, Search and Rescue Manager.
"The snow machines are a valuable asset to the team that enable us to access subjects quickly under adverse conditions", Peter Reid, Kimberley SAR President, "A gaming grant in Dec 2016 allowed us to purchase the machines and subsequently train team members for these types of situations."
The Kimberley RCMP said in a press release that this is the third call out for the SAR team in the last two months. "We are fortunate to have such dedicated volunteers in our community."