A man who set out to enjoy a night in the wilderness was surprised to encounter a police officer in the woods who called out his name.
Matthew Storey, 38, of Nanaimo, became the subject of a missing person search when he didn’t come home Monday.
Storey had gone out for night a night of camping, but this somehow did not get communicated to family members who became concerned when he still hadn’t come home as of Tuesday morning. When a family member found Storey’s pickup truck parked on Weigles Road, he sounded the alarm. A search operation commenced involving Nanaimo RCMP with a police dog handler, plus Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Cowichan, Arrowsmith and the Comox Valley volunteer search and rescue teams.
UPDATE: Missing Nanaimo mountain biker found safe
Storey was initially reported as a missing mountain biker by Nanaimo RCMP, but Allen Tonn, Nanaimo Search and Rescue search manager said it was not clear if Storey was on a bicycle or motorcycle or if he’d walked into the woods.
With help from a helicopter they had their answer shortly after noon.
“We’d located some footprints, by the helicopter, and while they were working the area the Nanaimo RCMP dog handler had gone into the area with his vehicle and had started following some prints and located him in the area around Cinderella Lake,” Allen Tonn said. “ So he’s tired and a little cold, but he’s in good spirits and he’s on his way back out.”
Storey said he went for a hike and decided to camp the night. He was walking back to his truck when he encountered RCMP dog handler Const. Clay Wurzinger.
“I guess some other people didn’t know that was going to happen and the authorities got called,” he said. “I was just walking out when I saw a police officer looking for me. It was quite surprised. I thought maybe it had something to do with my campfire because he called my name and I had my truck out here. I don’t know.”
Storey said he does not camp in the area often. This was the first time he’d camped in the area “in a long time” and there was never any sort of emergency, but he did express his gratitude for the effort put into tracking him down.
photos@nanaimobulletin.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
