Missing Hiker Found Safe
- kc dyer
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
A walk in the woods gone wrong
A hiker who went missing after riding up the Sea to Sky gondola last Sunday, and has been the subject of intensive search efforts all week, managed to make his way out of the woods yesterday and was discovered near Indian Arm.
Stanislav Volo, 43, had planned on a short hike along Habrich Ridge before returning to offload on the gondola. After he didn't return to his family when expected, he was reported missing, and Squamish Search and Rescue (SSAR) was notified.
He was spotted by another hiker later in the afternoon, which allowed searchers to hone in on a possible location.
SSAR spent the next five days searching the area, with support from partner SAR teams from North Shore, Chilliwack, Lions Bay, Pemberton, Whistler, Ridge Meadows, and Coquitlam.
On Friday afternoon, SSAR reported that Volo had walked out of the woods under his own steam, emerging on a forest service road alongside Indian Arm.
The day he got lost, Volo said he had mistakenly descended the north side of Mount Habrich on a climber's route instead of the more hiker-friendly Al's Habrich Trail route. Sometime on his descent, Volo fell and hit his head, and with his cell phone dead, he decided not to carry on in the dark. Instead he found a cave where he sheltered overnight.
The following day, he fell again, injuring his heel so badly he couldn't walk. Over the next several days he made repeated attempts to get down the mountain, but the terrain was too steep and treacherous. Sheltering in the cave, he ate two small packs of his daughter's gummy bears and a flowering plant that he found, and waited for rescue. He reported hearing the sound of helicopter search teams that were looking for him, and said he had tried to signal to them by waving a towel and blowing a whistle, but to no avail.
On Friday, his heel had improved enough that he was able to follow a nearby waterfall and slowly make his way down the mountain. At the bottom, he flagged down a truck driver on the road who led him to pipeline workers and a nearby search team.
Lions Bay Search and Rescue was assigned to search the north side of Mount Habrich because Volo's cell phone had connected with a tower on that side.
LBSAR Training Officer and Search Manager Maria Masiar, who was part of the search effort, described the terrain as absolutely brutal, with steep cliffs, deep drainages, slippery heather and significant fall hazards.
"Even experienced SAR members fell multiple times while moving through it. It was gruelling terrain to search. The bushes were so thick our probability of detection felt very low. We used voice calls and blew whistles to try to find him."
The search continued all week, with LBSAR contributing drone searches along with the ground parties. Several local members took time off from their full-time jobs to continue the search.
After his ordeal, Volo told the CBC that he wanted to thank all the volunteers who took part in the search. "I am so happy to be surrounded by so many good people," he said. "I am very lucky. There are so many things to learn from this experience. It can happen to anyone."
The news of Volo's rescue came as a enormous relief to members of the search teams.
"These are the days that Search and Rescue lives for," Masiar said yesterday.
"So many searches involve uncertainty and difficult outcomes, but every once in a while we get a day like today: a missing person is found alive and gets to go home to the people who have been desperately waiting for them. We can only imagine how incredibly happy and relieved his family must be to have him back today. It’s the kind of outcome every SAR member hopes for when we head into the field."
LBSAR provides rescue services without question or charge. Donations to help replace equipment and gear can be made HERE.
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