An elderly man was rescued from his car, which was stuck deep in the woods on a logging road, last weekend in the Skutz Falls area.

The Lake Cowichan RCMP began the search after the man texted a friend to say he was stuck sometime after 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5 when he left his home.

But the battery on the man鈥檚 cell phone went dead soon after and the authorities couldn鈥檛 get a fix on his location.

The RCMP searched all night along the logging roads in the area where it was believed the man and his car were located, but with no success, so Cowichan Search and Rescue were called in during the early morning hours on Dec. 6 to assist.

Patty Abbott, the search manager with CSR, said CSR crews on ATVs joined the RCMP teams, who also brought in a helicopter to help with the search, and began expanding the rescue operation.

鈥淎 hunter finally spotted the car in an area we were not searching in and called conservation officers who contacted us and we found the man on an old logging spur road deep into the forest still in his car about 14 hours after he left his house,鈥� she said.

鈥淗e knew better than to leave his car after he got stuck, and he had some food and water, but he did a lot of damage to his car trying to get it out. We handed him over to the RCMP and, from what I understand, he鈥檚 all right. He鈥檚 very lucky because it was a really isolated spot covered in mud and creeks and he shouldn鈥檛 have been there.鈥�

Abbott said that, although she鈥檚 unaware of whether it was a factor in this case, people need to watch out for seniors, whether they are related or a neighbour, that may be starting to show signs of confusion and make sure they have proper care.

She said she was touched by how many people dropped by during the search to thank the rescuers for their efforts.

鈥淚t was heartwarming,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to know we have such support from the public.

robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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