Terrace Mountain – Lost Group of Youths

On Wednesday, March 2 at 2015 hours Terrace RCMP (911) received a call from a group of lost youths on Terrace Mountain, 3 males and 1 female, approximately 15-16 years of age. The RCMP notified Terrace Search and Rescue who paged out team members for a search on Terrace Mountain. The Terrace SAR manager was able to obtain coordinates of their general location from their cell phone. The group also gave a physical description of their location which alerted SAR to their general area. The missing group had parked near the old bridge to hike to the Kermode Bear Lookout; they missed the route to the lookout and ended up on the other side of Terrace Mountain. It was dark, and the group would not travel further along the trail for fear of becoming more lost or injured. The group was advised to stay at their location and SAR would come get them. Terrace SAR responded to the search with 20 members.  A SAR Initial Response Team (IRT) located the general area and conducted sound sweeps for the missing persons.  In approximately 35 minutes from the initial callout, the IRT team had located the 4 lost subjects. The group was cold but had no injuries. They we escorted out of the area and transported back to their vehicle. At 2130 Terrace SAR closed the task and returned home.

The group was not prepared for and extended tip or night on the mountain; one person in the group was wearing only a T-shirt. Their cell phone battery was depleted and the group had no flashlights. They did the right thing by staying put when advised, this allowed the SAR team to find the subject faster than if they kept moving to different locations.