Missing hikers found near Buntzen Lake

METRO VANCOUVER – Three missing hikers were found safe and sound by Coquitlam Search and Rescue around 11:30 p.m. last night in the Buntzen Lake back country.

The hikers – two men and a woman – were found uninjured at the bottom of Eagle Mountain after an extensive search in the snowy region.

The trio called police at 6:25 p.m. to report they were lost in the area, said Ian MacDonald, search manager for Coquitlam Search and Rescue.

Unfortunately, the cellphone they were using before they were able to provide any detailed information on their whereabouts or identities.

Search crews dispatched a ground team and a Talon helicopter which had to turn back at nightfall. Fifteen people continued searching into the night.

The area is covered in deep snow and there was “certainly some avalanche hazard,” MacDonald said last night.

“It’s very much wilderness, alpine conditions.”