Updated with information from Crooked Lake Resort owner:
Williams Lake RCMP Insp. Milo MacDonald is calling last Saturday’s rescue of a man and woman along the shores of Crooked Lake near Horsefly, B.C. amazingly good news.
“When the paddle boat they had rented overturned in the middle of the lake, they managed to swim to shore and waited to be rescued,” MacDonald told the Tribune Monday.
Kim Bouwmeester and her husband Al have owned the Crooked Lake Resort since July 15 of this year and are also calling the rescue a good news story for their books.
The young couple arrived on Saturday morning around 10 a.m. to rent the boat, Kim said.
They were camping at a nearby Forest Service site, had life jackets, some food and their little dog.
Meanwhile, a very large group of people were celebrating a birthday so the resort and the lake were busier than usual.
“Around 8 p.m. Al and I always do the rounds to make sure everything is OK,” Kim said. “We worried that they hadn’t come back yet, so Al and one of our regular campers, Brad Tippe, set out by boat to look for them.”
More than three quarters of the way down the lake about seven kilometres, they found the paddle boat overturned and shoes in the water. After scoping out the area briefly and seeing nothing they quickly returned to the resort.
“We called 911 for search and rescue,” Kim said. “The dispatcher was incredible and stayed with me on the line until we had the appropriate rescue operation for our area.”
In the meantime, other campers who had boats assembled went out to search.
Around 11:30 p.m. they heard Al yell out “We got them!”
The rescued couple were very cold, scared and sore from walking on the rocks, but in good shape, Kim said, noting they set them up in one of their cabins with food and hot chocolate for the night.
They were able to call off one of the search and rescue teams from 100 Mile, but the Williams Lake team was too far in to have any communication so they arrived shortly before midnight.
“What an amazingly dedicated group of volunteers they are,” Kim said of Central Cariboo Search and Rescue.
“They were happy that we found them and glad that we called them to come out, reminding us never to hesitate to call them.”
“We really want to thank all of the campers, search and rescue, dispatch and police for all of their, great team work and help in making this a happy ending news story.”
MacDonald said he was relieved to call off the RCMP search plane that was arranged to begin searching at first light.
He praised the Crooked Lake staff and residents for their efforts.
“It would have been a cold night if they were left there on the shore.”
In recent weeks, the Williams Lake RCMP have responded to two drownings on the Fraser River.
Jordan Siegmueller, 24, fell off the Rudy Johnson Bridge, and Shane Colebank, 35, fell into the river while dip net fishing near Xat’sull Heritage Site.
Colebank’s body was discovered on Friday, Aug. 5, but Siegmueller’s body has not yet been located.
Original story
Williams Lake RCMP Insp. Milo MacDonald is calling last Saturday's rescue of a man and woman along the shores of Crooked Lake near Horsefly, B.C. amazingly good news.
"When the paddle boat they had rented overturned in the middle of the lake, they managed to swim to shore and waited to be rescued," MacDonald told the Tribune Monday.
The man and woman rented the boat at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, with the condition they return it by dark.
When they didn't show up the staff and local residents initiated a search at about 8:30 p.m.
"They did locate the overturned paddle boat and some shoes, but there was nobody located in the area," MacDonald said. "We had literally just made arrangements for our search plane to come at first light and then they were found safe and sound so it was cancelled.
MacDonald praised the Crooked Lake staff and residents for their efforts.
"It would have been a cold night if they were left there on the shore. It's nice to have a happy ending."
In recent weeks, the Williams Lake RCMP have responded to two drownings on the Fraser River.
Jordan Siegmueller, 24, fell off the Rudy Johnson Bridge, and Shane Colebank, 35, fell into the river while dip net fishing near Xat'sull Heritage Site.
Colebank's body was discovered on Friday, Aug. 5, but Siegmueller's has not been located.