WATCH: It was nothing short of a miracle. A motorbike rider found near death, two days after his accident. John Hua explains why finding him came down to pure luck.
A Kimberley, B.C. man missing since Sunday was saved thanks to some mountain bikers, who found him pinned under his motorbike in the bush on Tuesday night.
Forty-five-year-old Paul Kerr, who was reported missing on June 14 after he failed to return from a trip over the Gray Creek Pass, lay injured and unable to move for two days. Mounties believe the motorcycle left the road while going through a series of curves.
Police and rescue crews conducted a search of the area for two days. It was sheer luck the mountain bikers found Kerr since he was not visible from the road.
Warren Boychuk, Taylor Dahlen, Jesse Pinchuk and Derek McEvoy, all from Sherwood Park, stayed in Kimberley, B.C. for a couple of nights earlier this week on their way home from Kelowna.
On Tuesday, the four men went on a bike ride down a local mountain. Wanting to get back to the main road, the men cut through the bush on a less-than-travelled path.
“It was a totally unmarked path. No one would have gone down there,” said Boychuk. “As soon as we went down there we looked to our right and there’s this guy laying there with a bike on top of him.”
Boychuk said the man’s body was swarming with flies and they thought he was dead. But then, the injured man moved his leg.
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“He kind of flinched a little bit and that’s when we knew there was some life there,” said Dahlen. “He was in pretty rough shape. I couldn’t notice any bleeding but you could tell that he hadn’t moved in a couple days. His skin was starting to mould to the ground almost.”
They were completely unaware of the missing person report but called for an ambulance due to Kerr’s condition. He was taken to the East Kootenay Regional Hospital.
“These boys were really instrumental in probably saving Paul’s life,” said Cpl. Chris Newel with Kimberley RCMP. “It must have been an excruciating time for him and we’re just really happy that he’s alive and well.”
The extent of Kerr’s injuries and his current condition is unknown, but his injuries are non-life threatening.
When speaking to Global News about the experience Thursday, the Sherwood Park men were humble, saying they just did what anyone else would do in that situation.
“I’m just glad we could get him safe and home and to his family again,” said Boychuk.
“I’m glad we were in the right place at the right time,” added Pinchuk. “It’s a scary feeling. I don’t know how he made it through…but I’m glad he did.”
– With files from Caley Ramsay
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