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Williams Lake, BC - Missing senior found safe and sound after long search in wooded area.More than 36 hours after leaving his residence on Chimney Lake Road, 73 year old Larry Schafer has been located safe and has been taken to Cariboo Memorial Hospital to be checked.

Mr. Schafer left his home on an ATV pulling a utility trailer at approximately 10:00am on July 11.  At approximately 9:40pm that evening, police began searching for him after being alerted by family that he had not returned home.  RCMP members made their best efforts to search the rural area with what little day light was left, but were unable to locate the senior.

The search began again at 10:00am on July 12, when Central Cariboo Search and Rescue (CCSAR) and the RCMP set up a command post at the Chimney Felker Lake Fire Hall. Volunteers and officials searched an enormous, heavily wooded area for more than 12 hours in scorching temperatures on Thursday.

 

CCSAR and RCMP commander post set up as home base to look for missing Williams Lake senior

Although the searchers located Mr. Schafer’s ATV earlier in the day, and could see foot prints nearby, the path he took was unclear.

At approximately midnight a passerby traveling on Place Lake Road spotted Mr. Schafer walking. According to family members, the Good Samaritan was not aware that the man was reported missing, he simply stopped to offer assistance. Mr. Schafer was driven to his residence a short time later.

“We are at the hospital with him right now,” said Mr. Schafer’s step daughter Penny Gentles at 1:10am. “He did a lot of walking -- about 24 kilometers from what we can gather. He has lost some weight, but other than that he is witty and seems to be alright.”

Mr. Schafer told his family that he ate strawberries, drank water and slept under a fir tree.

“Our family would like to extend our deepest gratitude to every single person who has been helping us look,” Penny Gentles said. “There were volunteers of all ages including Chimney Lake residents, the Williams Lake RCMP, Central Cariboo Search and Rescue, South Cariboo Search and Rescue, and the K-9 unit that traveled from Quesnel. The helicopter came in from Prince George, the airplane used the Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR), it was unbelievable.”

 

 

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