For anyone who has hiked in the badlands that line the Red Deer River, the scenic terrain can become a maze.
To help stranded individuals in the badlands and the Drumheller area, Search and Rescue (SAR) Alberta is adding a new team to the badlands of Alberta.
At the moment, there are more than 1240 volunteers in 6 regions and 38 teams operating in Alberta.
A meeting to be held in Strathmore will help recruit and train volunteers. The meeting took place in the Global Training Centre on October 15 at 4:00 p.m.
In Alberta, search and rescue began in the early 1990s. The purpose of search and rescue is to find individuals believed to be lost in the wilderness.
The organization is entirely operated by dedicated volunteers. Individuals are trained to support police, fire departments, and emergency services, and provide security and first aid functions.
The closest teams to the Drumheller area and badlands are based in Calgary and Red Deer.
“Every search is an emergency,” said Scott Campbell, who is spearheading efforts to form a search and rescue team in the badlands. “If there is a group with an hour response time, as opposed to two or more, then we can get things going faster and find the lost individual.”
Incidents last year help emphasis the need for a team in the area. “River rafters got lost on the river,” said Campbell. “Helicopters and boat rescue were called and they were found.
“And then more river rafters were lost shortly after.” Campbell went on. “There’s a lot of stuff going on, and the vast majority of the time there is a great conclusion.”
A badlands search and rescue team may also be involved in search and recovery, which entails searching for human remains and assisting the RCMP with evidence gathering.
If you are interested in helping out with search and rescue in the area you are encouraged to email badlandsar@gmail.com.
