Ken MacKenzie of Lac La Hache (left) and Nicholas Froese of Kelowna (right) received Commanding Officer Commendations (Image credit: Ashcroft RCMP).

By Aaron Schulze

Commanding Officer Commendations

Two brave British Columbians recognized for dramatic rescue of British tourists near Hat Creek

Jul 26, 2024 | 8:43 AM

ASHCROFT, B.C. — Two British Columbians have been recognized for saving the lives of a pair of British tourists near Hat Creek two years ago.

In a news release issued Thursday (July 25), Ashcroft RCMP announced that Ken MacKenzie of Lac La Hache and Nicholas Froese of Kelowna received Commanding Officer Commendations.

The recognition stems from June 2022 when Mark and Janet Brimicombe’s vehicle left Highway 99, went through a fence, raced down a large, steep embankment and came to a rest in fast-flowing Hat Creek. The Brimicombes were injured, and their vehicle was filling up with water.

Image credit: Ashcroft RCMP

RCMP say that’s when MacKenzie and Froese, who saw the vehicle go down the embankment, travelled down and opened the vehicle’s sunroof and helped the Brimicombes escape.

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MacKenzie and Froese helped the couple up the embankment and provided them with first aid care while they called 9-1-1. The Brimicombes were treated at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

“This award is so richly deserved,” Mark and Janet Brimicombe, at home in the UK, say. “The road accident was a most distressing and disorienting event. We had rolled down into the river 170 feet below and ended up out of sight of the road. Our rescuers were brave, calm and quick-thinking. Once they realized we were still alive, they came down and helped us to get out of the car, cross the river and up the very steep embankment. We still think of them and can’t bear to think of what would have happened had they not been there. Not a day goes by that we do not thank God for being alive.”

Mark and Janet Brimicombe (Image credit: Ashcroft RCMP).

The Government of Canada says the Command Commendation is awarded to recognize deeds or activities beyond the demand of normal duty. The Chief of Defence grants the authority to specific commanders to award the Command Commendation.