Missing man found safe in Porcupine Hills

By Lethbridge Herald on June 28, 2022.

A man reported missing from the Crowsnest Pass was found early Saturday night in the Porcupine Hills wilderness area west of Claresholm.
Claresholm RCMP said about 7 p.m. Saturday they got a report from an outdoorsman that he and his 11-year-old son had come across an elderly man deep in the wilderness area. The man appeared to be confused and disoriented.
Police say the caller lost continuity of the man while seeking higher ground to reach cellphone service to make his call for help.
Various agencies including Claresholm and Fort Macleod RCMP, Willow Creek Emergency Services, Alberta Health Services, Fish and Wildlife and the RCMP Police Dog Services from Lethbridge attended the area.
During their response, It was learned the man was an 83-year-old who had been reported missing just minutes earlier.
At 9:20 p.m., the man was discovered by Willow Creek Emergency Services using ATVs assisted by a 40-year-old man from Calgary.
The elderly man was assessed, released and taken back to his family.
He had been wandering around the wilderness for about eight hours after becoming disoriented. His truck, which got stuck somewhere, has still not been located. It’s a dark blue 2010 Ford Ranger with Alberta plate BZT 4787. Police believe it’s somewhere in the Porcupine Hills, possibly by East Trout Creek/Lyndon Creek.
Anyone who comes across it is asked to contact Claresholm RCMP at 403-625-4445 or a local police service.
Police say the caller and his son saved the man’s life.
“Without their actions of calling police and assisting emergency services, the outcome could have been very different,” said Claresholm RCMP corporal Dalyn Orsten in a release.