'the hardest decision' b.c. rescue teams have to make: when to call off a search
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alex nguyen’s parents were waiting in the parking lot of shannon falls provincial park on canada day when they lost contact with their son.
the day was a perfect 31 c. the family had set out for some sightseeing near b.c.’s third-highest waterfall, where spectacular veils of whitewater cascade over a series of cliffs and sheer ledges formed by glacial erosion.
it wasn’t meant to be a wilderness hike, but nguyen, wearing flip-flops, had decided to explore the trail a bit.
nguyen’s parents were texting with their son as he walked.
nguyen, 20, texted that he was getting tired and heading back. by 3 p.m. his phone had died. his parents, growing anxious, called 911.
by 3:20 p.m., squamish search and rescue teams were on the ground. by 3:30 p.m., they were on the trails.
each search has its own challenges and concerns, and presents in its own unique way, said tyler duncan, squamish search and rescue manager, about the operation that would become a three-day search.
the team felt optimistic about this one.
“his mom had been tracking him on find my iphone. we had a very recent cellphone ping which put him halfway up the sea to summit trail, which goes from the base of shannon falls to the top of the squamish gondola.
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“there was still plenty of daylight,” said duncan.
the sea to summit trail is about eight kilometres long, with an elevation gain of 915 metres that would take a good hiker about three to five hours to complete.
squamish has many accessible valley trails, said duncan, but the mountain trail networks can very quickly become difficult. flats become steep trails with man-made stairs, boulders, slabs with chains or ropes for clambering, and unstable slopes.
several “hasty” teams started from the bottom toward where the cellphone had last pinged, while another team descended from the top.
“if it took you two hours to hike somewhere, it’s going to take us two hours to hike in to help you,” said duncan.
the first search covered the major trail networks that run between the sheer cliff bands.
“it’s a tiered structure,” said duncan.
slope, cliff, slope, cliff.
“because of that final cellphone ping, i was quite confident that we would get to that last location and find him sitting there waiting for us or meet him on the trail somewhere.”
seventeen squamish sar volunteers covered the major trails using sound searching, voices and whistles, and stopped to listen for anyone that might be calling for help.
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by 6 p.m., the mood, and the plan, had changed, said duncan.
drones were sent into the areas searchers couldn’t navigate by foot as darkness loomed. drones are most effective at dusk, as the ground and rock begin to cool off and the infrared camera sees differences in temperature: a person would stand out against the cooling ground.
operational period 1 of the search wrapped up at 1:30 a.m. operational period 2 began at 5:30 a.m.
tyler duncan is the manager of squamish search and rescue. he’s pictured in the forest near squamish on july 10.
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alex’s parents had gone home and returned, bringing fresh clothing for their son.
squamish search and rescue issued a mutual aid request for the south coast region. a hundred searchers came from around the region, in addition to 25 from squamish rescue, and drones were in the air by 6 a.m. covering the entire chief trail network.
a promising sighting emerged after a social-media blast: a couple had encountered alex on a trail on day 1. he didn’t seem lost or panicked, but asked for advice on which trail he should take to get down.
“we were still very hopeful we would find alex sitting and waiting for us somewhere,” said duncan.
operational period 2 ended without success, but there was no conversation about suspending the search.
“we were still very positive,” said duncan.
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the sea to sky gondola put alex’s parents up at a nearby hotel.
when any major search moves into its third operating period, b.c. sar brings in a level 2 search manager. paul berry of comox valley sar was brought in to advise what more could be done.
all searchable trails and high hazard areas, where someone could slip off a cliff or into the water, had been covered. the goal was to ask, “what next?”
“my recommendation was to expand the search off the trails,” said berry.
skilled technical searchers rappelled into canyons and over cliffs above the waterfall.
due to the volume, agitation and aeration of the water, it was too dangerous to put swift water technicians into shannon creek, but cameras were dropped into the water.
throughout the day, team leaders met with family members in the command centre, sharing information about the search.
by the end of the day, the conversations became more difficult. the decision to suspend a search is made based on probability of survival, and management of risk for the search teams, and in consultation with the rcmp, sar and the family, said berry.
starting a search is easy. knowing when to stop searching is not. when it comes to suspending a search, there is no standard operating procedure.
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“it’s the hardest decision we ever have to make,” said berry. “it’s desperately hard on the families and on the searchers.”
on the morning of day 4, the rcmp put out the announcement that the search was suspended.
the decision led to some criticism on social media: the search was too short; the victim was at fault; and even that sar makes decisions based on race.
“we have seen some painful comments on social media,” said duncan. “we look for everybody the same way.”
most importantly, said duncan: “suspended does not mean it’s over. we are waiting for conditions to change or more information to become available.”
if and when it does, “we will start looking for him again.”
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