Costly False Alarm

Sun., Dec. 15, 1996

Associated Press

Search and rescue

An unnecessary weekend search on Vancouver Island has prompted a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer to suggest that police should consider billing hikers for search-and-rescue efforts caused by their own negligence.

Staff Sgt. Lee Joubert made the proposal after an all-night search for a hiker who later turned up safe in downtown Vancouver.

“There are incidents where people don’t use a lot of good judgment and that result in search operations being done,” Joubert said. “I’d certainly like to see something done where there could be some cost recovery.”

Search-and-rescue teams, volunteers and a helicopter were called to search for a 35-year-old man who was a day late from his scheduled return from a hiking trip.

Turns out, the man bailed out of the trip and went to the city without notifying his family.

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