Volunteers with Coquitlam Search and Rescue (SAR) were busy in the Buntzen Lake recreational area this week, plucking two sets of couples off Eagle Mountain on Wednesday morning and night.
SAR spokesperson Michael Coyle told The Tri-City News on Thursday the team had completed a helicopter rescue earlier Wednesday when it received a distress call from Coquitlam RCMP from a second pair of hikers at 9:30 p.m. "There was a little bit of confusion at first because we had just been to the mountain that day," he said.
But when the young hikers phoned in to confirm they were not able to spend the night at Barton Point due to cold and dark conditions and lack of essential gear a search team of four was deployed up the Halvor Lunden trail at around 11:30 p.m.
"It took two-and-a-half hours to get there. We stayed with them for 40 minutes to warm them up before we got them ready to move."
They reached the Buntzen parking lot at around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, he said.
Meanwhile, Coquitlam SAR is about $30,000 shy of its goal to raise money for a mobile command replacement vehicle. To donate to the campaign, visit coquitlam-sar.bc.ca/initiatives/command-vehicle/.
