SOOKE, B.C. — A search and rescue organization on Vancouver Island says two adults involved in a scout program have been found alive after going missing in the Sooke hills area on Sunday.
Members of Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue began looking for the two people after finding a group of children and one adult leader.
Search and rescue manager Kathryn Farr said one of the group's members found the two adults on Monday afternoon.
She said three members drove into the forest with two utility terrain vehicles to find the two leaders and bring them back to safety.
The organization said land crews received a call for two overdue hikers in the Sooke hills area near the Jordan River shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday.
It said search crews were able to locate a wilderness campsite on Sunday that contained the five children and one leader near a creek that had swelled to dangerous levels in heavy rainfall.
Farr said they still have to get the five children out safely, which will be difficult because they are "on the wrong side of the river."
Vickie Webber of Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue said earlier Monday that the rescue teams decided to stay with the group at the campsite overnight to allow for the water levels to recede.
"We got to the five kids with their leader, but conditions were too treacherous to evacuate them out," Webber said in a statement.
The search began as a storm brought wind and rain to British Columbia's south coast. Earlier in the day, Environment Canada issued wind warnings for Greater Victoria and the west coast of the island, saying gusts as high as 100 km/h were possible in the area where crews are searching. (CFAX)
This report distributed by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2020.
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