Prince George Search and Rescue is relieved a missing hiker is alive after spending over five weeks in a remote park located in BC’s Peace Region.
20-year-old Sam Benastick was first reported missing by the RCMP after failing to return home from a 10-day camping trip, 250 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John on October 17th.
Spokesperson, Dave Merritt told Vista Radio a positive outcome like this after being in the wilderness for roughly two months is pretty rare.
“It is not something that happens on a regular basis, it happens once and a while when somebody who has gone missing shows up after a while. We don’t know how or where he went or any of that sort of information for us – we are just happy he is back with his family.”
“The psychology of getting lost and surviving is quite the science. The biggest piece is the will that you will get out of this, you are going to survive and get through it. None of us have talked to Sam or found out what his thought process was, we are just going by past case studies and reading about it and the will to overcome this. We have seen that in the US the past few years and they all said I wasn’t really in trouble, I just had to get out of the situation I was in.”
Merritt added Benastick was found by workers who were grading the area around well sites in the region.
Cpl. Madonna Saunderson with the North District RCMP confirmed to Vista Radio that further information is expected to be released today (Wednesday).
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