The parents of two-year-old Issac Leuenberger, missing for 16 hours overnight in a B.C. provincial park, are thanking the dozens of volunteers from around the Kootenays who took part in the successful search.
“We were expecting the worst after freezing temperatures. We just can’t thank everybody enough,” said Matt Leunberger, Issac’s father.
Issac was walking with his parents in Premier Lake Provincial Park, 60 kilometres north of Cranbrook, around 7 p.m. Saturday when he got distracted and wandered up the wrong trail without his family.
READ MORE: 2-year-old found safe after going missing in Premier Lake Provincial Park
He was eventually found the next day at 11 a.m., nearly three kilometres from the area he was last seen.
“The reality is when people get lost, whether they are two years old or 65 years old, do tend to move quite a long ways from where they started,” said Simon Piney, a manager with Fernie Search and Rescue.
Piney says more than 100 people helped in the search, including search and rescue members from around the Kootenays, and local volunteers who also pitched in.
“We were concerned when we couldn’t find him before the sun went down. With concern for someone that age, temperatures were below zero last night, so it was a big search,” he said.
“It’s a great testament to the people who volunteer for SAR that so many dropped everything…to join this search. Days like today is why we do it. I think it’s very motivating for all our teams.”
Helicopters, rescue boats, underwater cameras and heat-seeking radars were involved in the search – but it was eventually a family friend who found Issac this morning.
“We are so blessed to have such an amazing community full of people. There was search and rescue from Nelson and Kimberley and Cranbrook and Fernie and Sparwood, Elkford, all over,” said Shelly Leunberger, Issac’s mother.
“It was a very nightmarish evening that ended this morning with a miracle…We thank you for the chance to hold our son again.”