By Canadian Press

Couple safe after lengthy stranding in remote southeastern B.C. region

Nov 1, 2019 | 8:10 AM

INVERMERE, B.C. — A search for a couple in southeastern British Columbia has ended with the pair found safe after being stranded for days in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains.

RCMP Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey says the search began after 22-year-old Catherine Gibbons was reported missing Wednesday, five days after she had last spoken to friends or family.

Investigators also confirmed Damon Brodeur, who is 24, was with her and the two were likely camping in the backcountry.

An aerial search Thursday spotted Gibbons’s car stuck in an ice-filled creek along a forest service road northeast of Cranbrook.

O’Donaghey says the couple — both Columbia Valley residents — helped rescuers by stretching out an orange tarp and stamping a large arrow and the word “help” in the snow, leading crews to a nearby cabin where they had taken shelter for nearly a week.

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Gibbons, Brodeur and their dog were airlifted to safety and given a precautionary medical check but O’Donaghey says all three are well and in good spirits.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2019.

The Canadian Press