A father and his two children, aged 11 and 14, set out on a snowmobile tour on Lake Winnipeg yesterday. They started out in sunny, clear conditions that suddenly deteriorated to whiteout conditions.

After the father suffered a medical problem the 14 year old son and 11 year old daughter drove to shore to get help. They couldn’t call for with their cell phones, as there was no reception on the lake. After the 911 call came in, it took searchers three hours to find the children. By the time the father was found on the lake and brought to hospital he was pronounced dead.

This tragic incident might have had a better outcome, if GPS locating for cell phones worked properly in Manitoba and there were a better coverage. Instead of having to search a 300 Meter radious rescuers had to scan a 20 km circle around the reception tower.

Still the event could have turned out far worse, if the group had not been so well prepared and the 14 year old had not been experienced in outdoor survival in Manitoba. The youngster is considered to have performed exceptionaly well and to have saved his own and his sisters life through his handling of the emergency.


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