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FRIDAY, NOV. 24, 2017 Your community. Your stories. Five Convenient Tri-Cities
TRI-CITY
NEWS
LIGHTS AT LAFARGE
Locations to Se 1940 Oxford Connec rve You tor, Suite #103 1944 Como Lake Av 604-927-3388 604-937-3601e. 1020 Austin Ave., Su ite #203 2748 Lo 604-939-7733 ugheed Hwy, Suite 604-944-9577 #305 Burke Mountain, 20 2-3387 604-942-7214David Ave.
BIG COQ. HOLIDAY DISPLAY OPENS SATURDAY: INFO, 31
SPIRIT OF XMAS SECTION: 21-28
LEFT: GARY MCKENNA/THE TRI-CITY NEWS; RIGHT: JON LAVOIE/THEMOMENTITCLICKS.CA
Left: Coquitlam Search and Rescue volunteers, aided by Talon Helicopters, conducted a long-line rescue to ferry Annette Poitras out of the bush of the Coquitlam watershed Wednesday after she and the three dogs she was walking were missing for two days. Right: Her husband, Marcel Poitras (centre), smiles as he awaits arrival of his injured wife, who is expected to recover from injuries suffered in a fall.
ANNETTE POITRAS RESCUE
Poitras is recovering after ordeal Hundreds of SAR volunteers part of successful search over two days GARY MCKENNA JANIS CLEUGH
The Tri-CiTy News
Annette Poitras, who spent two nights in the bush this week after getting lost while walking dogs on Westwood Plateau, will remain in hospital for at least another day, ac-
cording to her husband. Marcel Poitras said yesterday his wife Annette was feeling better but suffered some muscle issues when she slipped on a log and hurt her leg. She has been on an IV since she arrived at the hospital Wednesday and was receiving physiotherapy, he told The Tri-City News Thursday afternoon. “She is good and OK,” he said. “She is going to spend another night at the hospital at least. There are no broken bones or anything, just some muscle trauma.” Marcel Poitras relayed some
TiMeLiNe: PG. 3
of what his wife had told him about the two nights she and the three dogs that were in her care — Roxy, Chloe and Bubba — spent in the dense bush around the Coquitlam watershed. On Monday evening, she stayed in the area where she fell, taking care of the dogs. One of the animals wandered off during the night but she was able to quickly find it the next day. At that point, she began to walk toward the BC
Hydro lines but got turned around. Sore, tired and unable to go any further, she hunkered down again with the animals and waited for rescuers to find her. “She was watching the helicopters,” Marcel Poitras said. “She was waiving her jacket and yelled herself hoarse.” Wednesday morning, after two nights in the bush, rescue crews made contact with Poitras and initiated a longline helicopter airlift for her and the animals.
COQUITLAM SAR SEES DONATIONS RISE The successful search for Annette Poitras and three dogs has garnered a lot of exposure for Coquitlam Search and Rescue — and an uptick in donations. Michael Coyle, SAR search manager, said any time a rescue involves animals, contributions via the team’s website tend to spike upward and this week was no different. “We have done two-day searches before that didn’t get this much attention,” he said. “Every once in a while, one of these stories takes off.” While he could not say exactly how much of an increase in donations the SAR team had received, he noted that many contributions have come through the website and donation jars at businesses around town. Anyone wishing to donate to Coquitlam Search and Rescue can do so by going to www.coquitlam-sar.bc.ca/support-us.
see ‘EVERY CALL’, page 3
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DINNER INCLUDES:
• Oven-roasted Turkey Dinner • Caesar Salad • Slice of Pumpkin Pie
for your Christmas Party!
COQUITLAM
300-100 Schoolhouse St
604.526.2272