A hunter from Calgary who got lost west of Sundre over the weekend was located alive following an extensive nearly three-day search.
“As the crow flies, he was found about 7.2 kilometres north of the point last seen,” said Roger Tetreault, senior search manager for Sundre Search and Rescue, adding the male was located southwest of Bearberry.
RCMP deployed officers, a police helicopter and canines, who were supported by search and rescue volunteers from Sundre and Rocky Mountain House as well as Clearwater Fire Rescue, when Timothy Benedict Campbell was reported missing on Saturday, March 30 after attempting to follow an animal in the Williams Creek area down Coal Camp Road.
The missing man, a subsistence hunter allowed year-round access, was reportedly searching for a deer, said Tetreault.
“He wasn’t breaking any laws.”
Searchers covered some 23 kilometres and followed the 33-year-old’s fading tracks back to a road, where the trail was temporarily lost.
Although there was a suspicion at that point that Campbell had perhaps already been picked up by a passerby, searchers continued looking for tracks along the road and picked up a fresh trail, along with bear prints in the mud and snow, said Tetreault.
Shortly after discovering the hunter’s fresh tracks, Campbell was found barefoot and without pants, he said.
“He was located without boots.”
Research on the behaviour of those who get lost in the wild indicates that for uncertain reasons, people tend to eventually start discarding articles of clothing, he added.
“No one really understands what’s behind it.”
Exposure to the elements resulted in the man developing hypothermia, he said.
“He was not doing well.”
Campbell, who was located just before dark on Monday, April 1, was flown by police helicopter to the Sundre Hospital and Care Centre for initial treatment before being transferred to a Calgary hospital, he said.
“The family said he’s doing fine.”
Tetreault hailed the positive outcome in the first search and rescue operation so far this year as the result of all of the teams’ perseverance and decision to keep looking.
“Not a lot of people can go 23 kilometres through bush and keep going.”
When rescuers found him, Campbell was still mobile, he said.
“He was walking to the team.”
He said the police helicopter had been providing eyes in the sky just overhead, and Campbell must have suspected searchers were nearby and started moving towards them.
“He’s quite bush-wise and experienced, which everyone who goes hunting says they are,” he said, urging people who plan to head out into the backcountry to, “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”
Before losing his way, Campbell had hurriedly left his friend and son in the truck to pursue an animal. But even with the best bush sense, Tetreault said people need the tools to be ready in the event of a worst-case scenario, and they should also always communicate their intentions.
“Let someone know what your plan is and when you plan to be back and stick to the plan.”
In this instance, the man’s friend reported him missing later in the day, and the search effort started as light was already fading, he said.
“We will search at night but we have to do the balance of what kind of risk our searchers are put in.”
With bears emerging from their winter slumber, Tetreault said conditions are not the only concern.
“It’s not just the weather, it’s predators too.”
Additionally, with the thaw, ice is breaking up and creeks are starting to flow. Having a searcher stumble into a creek in the dark is not a risk rescuers are prepared to take, he said.
However, because there was a high probability of finding the missing hunter since fresh tracks had been discovered, rescuers would have continued the search to its conclusion, he added.
At one point, Campbell’s tracks in the snow — which were hit and miss, occasionally disappearing in the melt — led searchers to the creek, he said.
“He was tough — he got across the creek,” he said, adding that with a 12-hour head start, Campbell might have crossed over an ice bridge that later melted.
“His tracks led right into the water,” he said, adding the trail was picked up the next day on the other side following a careful search with a drone and dog.
“It was a complete success with all of the combined efforts from all of the resources,” he said about the operation.
Les Larson, a Sundre Search and Rescue director and team lead, also expressed gratitude on behalf of the organization for the mobile command post trailer that was made available by Capital Pressure.
Meanwhile, with spring and summer well on the way, Tetreault encourages people to “be careful and play safe.”
Visit www.distancetoassistance.com for more information on getting ready for outdoor excursions.
