Golden Ears Park in British Columbia, Canada.Photo:Getty Images
Getty Images
A teen who went missing in a Canadian park for two days has been found.
The 16-year-old hiker, Esther Wang, got lost on a trail in at Golden Ears Park in British Columbia on Tuesday, June 27, but is now safe, according to anews releasefrom the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
“She is healthy, she is happy and she is with family,” RCMP Superintendent Wendy Mehat wrote in the statement.
The Canadian teen was part of a hiking group in the British Columbia park when she peeled off around 3 p.m., per the release. Members of the group attempted to contact Wang with no success. The group then contacted park officials, who then reached out to RCMP.
The Canadian police said that they “immediately activated” Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue.
On the night of Thursday, June 29, around 9:30 p.m., Wang “walked out of the East Canyon trail on her own,” the release states. By the time she exited the mountain path — which was the same one she was hiking on when she became separated from her group — about 54 hours had passed since she first went missing.
Wang was reunited with her family the same evening, following a health assessment.
RCMP Sergeant Keith SchendeltoldCityNewsthat Wang had no serious injuries.
Golden Ears Park in British Columbia, Canada.Getty Images
“Her parents had still been there from the day’s rescue efforts — they’ve been up there fairly continuously for the last couple of days — and she walked pretty much right into their arms,” Schendel said.
The teen hiker took a wrong turn going down the mountain, according to the sergeant.
“She came down the mountain and followed a waterway out to the path,” Schendel toldCityNews, adding that Wang made it out of the wilderness thanks to enough food and water to last her two nights.
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In RCMP’s news release, Mehat added that Wang’s family “has expressed sincere gratitude” to the first responders and search groups who worked to find the 16-year-old hiker.
“They are very thankful for this outcome and request privacy at this time,” the superintendent wrote.
Ryan Smith, a member of the committee that led the 16-team search for Wang, said that the team is “elated at the outcome of the search.”
“Esther being returned to her family is what our objective was,” Smith added.
“We used as many resources as we could,” Smith continued in the release. “I’d like to thank our partner organizations, the RCMP, other first responders, the helicopter companies that assisted us in this exhaustive search.”
source: people.com
