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North Shore Rescue saves stranded hiker

File photo. North Shore Rescue

Two members of North Shore Rescue spent a chilly night near Lynn Lake with a lost hiker.

Crews responded to a call Wednesday night from a woman who phoned 911 after she ended up lost in the Hanes Valley area.

The members hiked in and reached the woman but decided it was too risky to exit the trail during the night.

They were all flown out to safety Thursday.

“She’s OK,” said Barry Mason with North Shore Rescue on Wednesday night. “She’s just really tired and not moving through the terrain very well. It’s tricky footing up there so what they’ve decided to do is to spend the night where it’s going to be safe and at first light we’re going to fly up with a helicopter and fly all three members out.”

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“It’s a long hike out and we’ve determined it to be too risky at night.”

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All over British Columbia, search crews are being pressed for resources as call volumes increase. The provincial government has increased funding for the teams, but many say it’s not enough to support B.C.’s 80 search-and-rescue groups.

North Shore Rescue is the busiest team in the province and team leaders say changes to funding need to be considered, including the possibility of moving from a volunteer model to one where crew members are paid.

“If we are going to have ever-increasing call volume I think something needs to change,” Mike Danks of North Shore Rescue said in early September. “I think the paid on-call [model] sounds interesting, I really welcome any debate on it.”

-With files from Jon Azpiri

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