Rescued seniors donate $2,000 to Coquitlam search and rescue team

Coquitlam Search and Rescue received a call at about 9:15 p.m. Sunday. A group of 19 hikers, averaging 70 years old, had gone to Pinecone Burke Provincial Park. They planned to be back that afternoon, but as the sun set, “the trail became unfamiliar and mysterious,” one of the seniors later said. The group was also dealing with spotty cellphone reception and a frozen navigation app.

Search crews left their Thanksgiving dinners and headed into the backcountry. Coquitlam RCMP found one group of seniors on Woodland Walk, while search volunteers went east and found the other group on a mountain bike trail. One rescued senior said the e-bike headlights looked like “a light of hope in the darkness.” All 19 hikers were brought back safely just after midnight, according to a Coquitlam Search and Rescue post.

Two days later, the seniors went to Town Centre Fire Hall. They had collected $2,000 to donate to Coquitlam Search and Rescue and thanked everyone who helped them that night. Donations typically go toward gear or training, team president Nick Zupan told the Tri-Cities Dispatch. “We have lots we can do with the money,” he wrote. “For now it’ll go into our donation account and we’ll look at what our immediate needs are.”

In a letter to the team, one senior said being stranded after dark was frightening, but knowing rescuers were on their way brought “tremendous comfort.” The letter said: “You gave up precious time with your own families over Thanksgiving to help us. We understand that this meant leaving celebrations, changing plans and working late into the night. We are sincerely sorry for the disruption we caused and for taking you away from your loved ones.”

The senior acknowledged the group was “inadequately prepared” and stressed the need to plan a route and timing, and to bring essential equipment on the next hike. “This Thanksgiving will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Thank you for coming to our aid, for caring for us and for making it possible for us to return to the people we love,” the letter said.

Coquitlam Search and Rescue shared the letters and said no one should feel ashamed to call for help. “People make mistakes, plans change, weather shifts, injuries happen, and technology fails. SAR exists because well intentioned adventures can go sideways. If you need help, call early. We would much rather respond to a call that turns out to be minor than arrive after a situation becomes dangerous,” the post said.