HALO Air Ambulance is seen in flight at the Medicine Hat Air Show in this News file photo. On Wednesday, HALO located a 40-year-old woman who was reported missing. The woman was found safe along the South Saskatchewan River.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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HALO Air Ambulance has located 40-year-old Aldea Tillmans safe during an aerial search along the South Saskatchewan River on Tuesday at 6:50 p.m. following a missing persons report.
Several organizations including local RCMP, Lethbridge Area Search and Rescue and South Eastern Alberta Search and Rescue, Lethbridge Police and HALO were involved in search and rescue efforts.
Police released information on Tillmans on Tuesday afternoon in an effort to engage the public to keep an eye out for the kayaker.
Police said they were looking for Tillmans along the Oldman River between Grand Forks Campground and Medicine Hat after her vehicle was located Monday at a boat launch near Taber.
Police believed she was planning to camp along the way but were unaware of her whereabouts after Aug. 12.
Police are encouraging individuals who like to spend time in the backcountry or remote areas with no access to a cellphone, to share their travel plans with family members or friends before healing out.
“Investing in a satellite phone would be ideal and enable periodic check-ins with family or friends,” says Kristen Saturley, strategic communications manager with Lethbridge Police Service.
“It’s also advisable to share travel plans, particularly the route you’ll be taking and when you expect to arrive at your destination so someone knows to sound the alarm if something happens and you don’t make it on time.”
If you don’t own a satellite phone, Saturley says it is recommended to travel with a companion.
“So if there’s an accident and one person gets hurt, the other can go for help.”
Aside from providing the region’s only dedicated medevac helicopter, HALO responds to a variety of calls for service, including search and rescue incidents.
