Volunteers with North Shore Rescue (NSR) were called out Sunday night to rescue a hiker who became lost after trail markers were removed from the area.
NSR team leader Mike Danks said the hiker was recovered without harm from an area near the Old BCMC trail and MacKay Creek.
“They opted to follow the old BCMC trail. In doing so they got off the markers and ended up on the MacLay Creek trail which, unfortunately, they were not able to follow the markers because they weren’t there.”
But he said the removal of the signs — a problem that’s been occurring for some time now — is a growing concern.
“What we feel the motivation is, there’s people out there who love to hike these trails and they want to keep it as a private trail,” he said. “The challenge for us is what if we don’t get there in time? What if they do get injured?”
Though signs have been taken from the trail all year, Danks said there has been an uptick in recent months.
The search and rescue team is now reaching out to the public for help in catching the culprit.
“If you do see someone taking down a sign, please note what they’re wearing,” Danks said. “Contact the RCMP, and hopefully we can deal with that.”
North Vancouver RCMP said it has not received any reports of missing signs as of yet.