An 18-year-old Nanaimo man is no worse for wear after spending a few hours lost on Westwood Ridge Christmas Day.
Eight members of Nanaimo Search and Rescue were called out at 6 p.m. on what search manager Allen Tonn described as a straightforward rescue.
“The young man was hiking his usual route when he went off track and darkness fell, so he called 911,” said Tonn. “He realized he had cellphone service where he was and could see some city lights, so he stayed put. He did all the right things.”
The teen used his smartphone to relay longitude and latitude coordinates to his rescuers. He was located around 8:30 p.m and home an hour later.
“With his coordinates, we found him within 80 metres of our GPS coordinates,” said Tonn. “He was a little damp, a little cold and probably a little embarrassed, but no worse for wear.”