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SAR will bring you home

It may only be two or three calls per year, but for the Bonnyville Search and Rescue (SAR) team, it's those few times when there is a life on the line. Bonnyville SAR has been helping locate missing persons in the region since December 1996.
Stephen Medford, president of Bonnyville SAR, explains the role of the command centre during a search and rescue mission.
Stephen Medford, president of Bonnyville SAR, explains the role of the command centre during a search and rescue mission.

It may only be two or three calls per year, but for the Bonnyville Search and Rescue (SAR) team, it's those few times when there is a life on the line.

Bonnyville SAR has been helping locate missing persons in the region since December 1996.

“We found that there were a lot of missing people back then, and the RCMP were over-tasked. They needed civilians to step-up to the plate, to be trained to clue awareness and fundamentals, and to start searching,” said Stephen Medford, Bonnyville SAR president, and SAR manager.

Medford has been a member of SAR for 10-years, and is trained as a man tracker and SAR manager.

The group of 10 volunteers helps search for missing, lost, or overdue people, as well as evidence searches for the RCMP.

They're used to help locate weapons lost or tossed in the bush that could be used as evidence, as well as tracking the movements of missing people.

Before Bonnyville SAR was formed, RCMP would search for missing persons themselves, which required over six members at a time. Now, with the help of SAR, only two RCMP members and an incident commander are needed for the search, along with the SAR team.

Should they need more boots on the ground, they can reach out to Cold Lake, St. Paul, or Lac La Biche SAR.

The SAR team receives calls at all hours of the day. Medford rallies up the team and they choose a meeting location based on the information provided by the RCMP.

Most recently, they had a situation where a man tubing along the Beaver River was long overdue.

After RCMP reached out to SAR and provided the details of the situation, they dispatched and met at the river by Hwy. 41, where the man was supposed to meet his wife hours prior.

His wife told police they had been tubing on the river earlier that day with their daughter.

What had started out as an innocent trip along the river by Hwy. 55, turned into an all-night venture.

Sometime after 6:30 p.m., the man chatted with his friends, and figured the trip from Hwy. 55 to Hwy. 41 by tube was about two-hours.

Medford said they couldn't have been more wrong.

“On a good day, it's closer to seven or eight hours,” he said.

During the search, all efforts to get a boat into the water were unsuccessful, due to water levels and the amount of debris floating down the river.

At one point, Medford recalls seeing a full-sized tree float by.

Instead of putting his team at risk, SAR volunteers walked along the riverbank and roadways leading to the Beaver River.

“At 3 a.m. we did some vocalizations, where we yelled the person's name out. We did that three times and listened to hear if he called back. We did three whistle-blows, and we did get some indication there was someone or something down the river, but we weren't 100 per cent sure if we were scaring a beaver, or if it was a person splashing back at us,” said Medford.

At 5 a.m., the team regrouped and started discussing what could have happened. Due to the amount of debris, they were concerned his tube had been punctured and he was stranded, or worse.

It was after they had reached out to the Cold Lake SAR and military that they heard the news that the man had been located.

“A local outfit with a helicopter was scanning the radio frequencies. They flew over top of us and flew down the river valley. He found the guy, picked him up, and took him back to base. Because we were in the river valley, we had no cell signal, so we didn't know this was happening,” described Medford.

It wasn't until RCMP made their way to the top of the hill that the message came through.

When Bonnyville SAR first started in 1996, there were 35 members. Now, they have 10 volunteers, and are always looking for more.

Becoming a searcher is fairly easy.

“They need to have a willingness to come out. We then fund a fundamental course. We have a few trainers around the area so we take our people and do a weekend training course on fundamentals. Once you have that, you become an active searcher,” noted Medford.

From cliff to white water rescue, the courses are endless. Local volunteers have taken the man tracking and search manager course, but haven't felt compelled to take the others, mostly because of the area's terrain.

Volunteers must also have CPR and first-aid training.

For those who want to lend a hand, but don't want to become a searcher, there are options, Medford said.

“We still have the command unit out, and we have to have someone who we call a scribe. Anything that is talked about inside of the command unit, or comes through on the radio the person writes down on the book to give us a running record. They do have a digital recorder,” he noted.

They also need volunteers to man the radio.

“They're still doing a vital part of our job,” Medford expressed.

As an active community, Bonnyville residents are always on the go. But, Medford wants to remind everyone that it's important to keep safety in mind at all times.

First, tell people when and where you're going, and approximately when you should be expected back. It's also helpful if you tell them about any medical conditions.

Carry a whistle, and small safety pack with you. It should contain a small blanket, food, matches, and even flares.

For those going down the river, Medford emphasized on the importance of bringing a lifejacket.

“Have a lifejacket with you and put it on. I know you want to get the sun going down there, but please put a life jacket on.”

If you do find yourself lost, there is a tip that the SAR team teaches at local schools.

“We teach them to hug a tree through our Watch In the Woods program,” said Medford. “It gets kids to understand that tree is their best friend.”

Finally, if you believe a friend is missing, don't hesitate to call the RCMP.

“A lot of the TV shows down in the United States give people the indication that a person has to be 24-hours missing before anyone starts looking. If that person is reliable enough that you know they're supposed to be home at five-o'clock, and suddenly it's six or seven and they're not back, call. That's when we start to get out and start searching. Don't wait 24-hours before you call,” he said. “We can get boots on the ground, there are several of us that are man trackers. We can start picking up a trail and get a direction of travel, so when the rest of the team gets in, we can point them in the right direction.”

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