Tributes are still coming in for North Shore Rescue leader Tim Jones, who passed away on Sunday night after a sudden heart attack on Seymour Mountain. But for one survivor, he feels he owes his life to Jones.
Chris Morley was just hours away from death after falling 600 feet down Mount Seymour on January 19, 2007. Morley had been snowshoeing with a friend when he plummeted down the cliff, landing by a waterfall, minus his coat and pack, which had been ripped off in the fall.
He was in bad shape – several fractures, a broken neck and a dislocated shoulder. His friend called SAR and minutes before nightfall, Tim Jones and Gord Ferguson were choppered in to rescue the badly injured father of three. But worsening conditions and a severe avalanche risk kept Morley and his rescuers on the mountain for two freezing nights.
Jones spent his time on the mountain by Morley’s side and on the third day, they were all airlifted to safety when the weather finally broke.
Every year on the anniversary of his rescue, Morley goes back to Mount Seymour, to reflect on what Jones and his team did to save his life. In an eerie twist of fate, Morley was on the mountain when Jones collapsed from a sudden heart attack Sunday.
It was exactly seven years to the day he was rescued and Morley even helped paramedics carry up equipment.
“I didn’t know at the time but that was Tim Jones they were rescuing at the time,” Morley told Global News. “So I was 200 feet from where he died.”
Before his sudden death, Jones had a vision for a legacy fund for North Shore Rescue, which would provide a stable source of money to help maintain the SAR equipment, according to Doug Pope, search manager with North Shore Rescue.
Currently NSR has an unstable source of funding, relying mostly on donations from people they’ve rescued, members of the community and corporations. Jones helped put the infrastructure for a legacy fund in place. And now, following Jones’ death, an online campaign has been launched in his memory.
“The legacy fund was his next big project where he’d be able to set aside capital and that interest from the capital would generate a stable source of revenue to keep the team running,” Pope said.
For Morley, Jones’ won’t be forgotten.
“I’d like to thank Tim. My boys have a father. Without him I wouldn’t be here today.”
Jones will be honored at a celebration of life in North Vancouver at Centennial Hall on Saturday.
For more information or if you would like to donate to the Tim Jones Legacy Fund, click HERE.
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