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New search dog helps COSAR find missing Kelowna woman

A 29-year-old woman was found safe in the Kettle Valley area Saturday morning
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Central Okanagan Search and Rescue assisted Kelowna RCMP in finding a missing woman Saturday, April 3, 2021. (Royce Sihlis photo)

A team of 25 search and rescue members were sent to scour a large Kettle Valley area Saturday.

Thanks to their efforts, a missing 29-year-old Kelowna woman was found safe.

Central Okanagan Search and Rescue (COSAR) was deployed to assist the Kelowna RCMP in the search at 3 a.m. Saturday, April 3.

The woman had wandered away from her group on the Gillard Forest Service Road in “rugged terrain,” police said.

The large COSAR unit searched the area along with their new search dog, Chase.

“He’s a two and a half year-old Labrador retriever and his handler has spent over 2,000 hours training him for certification,” said search manager Duane Tresnich.

Due to the terrain of the search area, COSAR was assisted by three members of the Penticton Search and Rescue team and another K-9 unit from Oliver/Osoyoos SAR.

Other folks who aren’t with any SAR team responded as well.

“COSAR would like to thank the public for their assistance as they travelled up and down Gillard Forest Service Rd,” a COSAR spokesperson said.

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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