B.C. search dog, Hunter, and his handler Keith Jones of Williams Lake assisted last week in the search for a missing mushroom picker in the Kitseguecla Road area northwest of Smithers.
Frances Brown, 53, was last seen on Oct. 14 in the forest between Smithers and Hazelton after she became separated from the person she was picking mushrooms with.
While the official search found traces of a campfire, there were no other clues. The search was called off on Monday, although family and friends are continuing it on their own.
“It was disappointing that we did not find her, but there were lots of us on the search,” Jones said. “All together there were 20 different search and rescue groups represented. Each day there were 30 to 50 people searching. We had some really good resources there.”
Before Jones and four-and-a-half-year-old Hunter arrived, the Terrace Police Dog Services had been there for three days.
“Hunter and I were there Wednesday through Saturday, and the police dog was back on the Friday,” Jones said.
All BC Search Dog Association canines are trained in wilderness searching to look for any human scent.
“If Hunter is within 100 to 300 metres he will definitely indicate that to me,” Jones explained.
To search, they use a grid pattern through the forest on the downwind side so they are searching into the wind, he added.
Hunter searched off-leash, which he normally does, whereas if he’s tracking then Jones will use a long line, which RCMP often employ.
While Jones and Hunter concentrated their efforts during the daylight, the RCMP had a helicopter with infrared for several days and other search and rescue volunteers went through the night and lit some fires in hopes Brown would see them.
Jones praised the efforts of local First Nations who “played a huge role” in the search.
“There were two First Nations women who were communicating between their searchers and our search and rescue group,” he said.
Jones is a member of Central Cariboo Search and Rescue and was joined by CCSAR member Robin McCollough who travelled with him to Smithers on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
CCSAR member Paul Airey arrived Friday to be part of the incident management team.
“The incident management team would look at probabilities and lost person behaviour to see how we were going to search,” Jones explained.
Houston SAR brought a command trailer to the search base site at the Rocky Ridge Resort and two people from the Salvation Army cooked meals for the searchers so they could go as long as possible, he added.
“The people who own the resort are also search and rescue members.”
There are presently 19 search dogs in B.C. and Hunter is the dog living the furthest north.
The Smithers-area search was Jones and Hunter’s sixth search, the most recent being last May in Cache Creek for the late fire chief Clayton Cassidy, who was swept away in the creek.
“There were two other search dogs with us and we helped locate the area of interest,” Jones said.
At home, Hunter is a great pet and a close friend with the other family dog Coco.
“Hunter has a lot of energy and we do keep him sleeping outside so he’s used to being in the elements,” Jones added.
He also encouraged everyone to check out a new film, We’ll Find You, about the BC Search Dog Association produced by TOPO Films.