Hundreds of square kilometres scoured, sleepless man-hours spent, the search for Karen Roy, of Chestermere, was seemingly over and then from the passenger side of a red Ford Focus emerged a barefoot and dehydrated Roy.
Hundreds of square kilometres scoured, sleepless man-hours spent, the search for Karen Roy, of Chestermere, was seemingly over and then from the passenger side of a red Ford Focus emerged a barefoot and dehydrated Roy.
Last seen at the Little Elbow Campground at around 10:30 p.m. on June 1, it wasn’t immediately clear to RCMP why Roy might have left her vehicle without a cell phone, nor ID, and with her two Labrador dogs still in the vehicle. A mere 10 minutes after the search was called off, the morale around the search changed.
As emergency crews stood around waiting for the last of the search party to return to camp, the mood was decidedly low as RCMP and heads of the search and rescue crew emerged from the site headquarters to deliver the news that the search would be called off and would be labelled as a long-term investigation.
Some grabbed extra water bottles, some collected their gear to head home, but just when hope seemed to be fading, a woman in tattered clothes, no shoes, and ripped pants was a sight that dropped almost every jaw in the camp.
“As of 1:25 p.m., Miss Roy was found on Highway 66 by the barricades at the top of Little Elbow Camp Grounds, ” said Cochrane RCMP Sgt. Jeff Campbell.
“(Roy) had wandered off into the woods and we are now in the process of having her checked out by EMS. She spent all night and into today in the woods and seems slightly dehydrated, but not too worse for wear and in good health … we will have her back home shortly.
“There’s a lot of elation, you’re happy that she’s safe and sound. This gives us a bit of happy closure to a situation that frankly, doesn’t usually end up like this. ”
“It’s thanks to a lot of the hard work from the Search and Rescue teams (Cochrane and Calgary), a big thank you to the media for getting the word out there and especially to the young lady who picked up Miss Roy. ”
Jessi Robb of Calgary, out for a walk with her dog, found Roy.
“I had no idea there was anything going on, ” Robb said, “I didn’t know there was a missing person. It’s surreal for me, I was just out for a walk with my dog and just happened to find someone who really needed to be found. ”
“She asked me for a ride to her car. I was just trying to find her car and she said just drop me off at this search and rescue thing, as we both sat wondering who they were out looking for. ”
Little did either Roy or Robb know, the search, which included RCMP, RCMP police dogs, Cochrane and Calgary Search and Rescue, SAR K9 units, Calgary Police HAWCS helicopter, and Alpine Helicopters, was actually for Roy.
Things could have ended up a lot worse than they did, said Matt Mueller, a member of the search party and public safety specialist for the Kananaskis Region Environment and Sustainable Resource Development.
“We’re dealing with clear-cut, marshes, thick timber, old timber, so it’s very difficult to stay on your track and on your line to make sure you’ve covered everything sufficiently, ” Mueller said.
“This is our second call out for a missing person this year. It’s a huge area with designated campgrounds and trails, but once you leave the trail you’re basically on your own. Make sure you tell people on the outside, let them know your plans, tell someone when you expect to be out, and let people know what your experience level is, because that can help us with finding you. ”
