Police rescue boater trapped on river at night, Fraser River. BC

Chilliwack, BC: On March 3, 2011, at approximately 7:35 pm, Chilliwack RCMP received a call from a family member of a man who was reported to be a missing boater on the Fraser River.

Information from the family in Mission, BC, revealed the man had just purchased a new boat and wanted to test it out. He was driven to Chilliwack by family members where he launched his boat into the Fraser River at 4:30 pm at Old Orchard Road boat launch. While the man tested his boat on the river his family members drove to a pre-arranged meeting point. When the man failed to meet his family where and when he should have, they called police to report him overdue.

The boater was wearing coveralls and a life jacket, but was not dressed for the winter conditions being experienced in the area. The man was also ill-equipped and had no safety equipment such as oars, a knife, or a cellular telephone.

The Chilliwack Search and Rescue were called to assist and launched their boat into the river. The Lower Mainland police Traffic Safety Helicopter, Air 1, was also called to assist due to darkness and low visibility.

After two hours of searching, the police helicopter located a small aluminum boat two kilometers west of the Old Orchard boat launch about forty feet from the shoreline. The man was laying in the boat and initially appeared to be unresponsive. Once he noticed the helicopter he started to wave and stood up in the boat.

"The man was removed from his boat by Search and Rescue and taken to an waiting ambulance," said Corporal Tammy Hollingsworth. "The boater was uninjured, but was very cold and wet. He was assessed by paramedics for cold weather exposure and released to relieved family members."

RCMP members at the scene were able to determine the boat had become entangled in a fishing net and was unable to proceed further. Joint efforts from the Chilliwack RCMP, Mission RCMP, Search and Rescue, and the RCMP helicopter resulted in the safe return of the boater.

"The assistance from the police helicopter was instrumental in locating the man, said Corporal Hollingsworth. "If we hadn’t found him, the male would have had difficulty surviving through the night."