If Vernon resident Reg Bardsley hadn’t heard
a faint emergency signal Tuesday night, he says it might have gone undetected.“It’s always been my hobby to listen for these things.”Bardsley was the first to hear the siren sound of an Emergency Locator Transmitter on one of his radio scanners at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday.“I immediately phoned Victoria and they said they had no reports of it at that time,” he added.Bardsley, 46, who used to work for the ambulance service and fire departments, has been involved in amateur radio over the past 10 years and has five scanners in the house, with one permanently tuned to emergency frequencies.Barsley said he has heard numerous emergency beacons over the years, all false alarms. This was the first time it was a real crash.Commercial flights in the area, including a WestJet inbound for Kelowna, were asked to tune in and listen for the weak signal. Once it was confirmed, a Buffalo Search and Rescue aircraft was dispatched from Comox, and arrived on the scene just after midnight.Bardsley said he homed in on the signal using a special antenna and knew it was out to the west. From a video camera mounted on one of his radio masts he watched the sky light up to the west as the Buffalo dropped flares to illuminate the area around Bouleau Lake, about eight kilometres west of Westside Road.Vernon Search and Rescue were called in at 1:50 a.m., after the Buffalo failed to locate the wreck, which was eventually spotted by an RCMP helicopter Wednesday morning in daylight, he said.Vernon RCMP Cpl. Henry Proce confirmed an RCMP helicopter pilot found the wreckage. A team of at least 18 Vernon Search and Rescue volunteers made their way to the steep area to investigate.When they discovered the crash site, search and rescue crews found the pilot was dead.“This morning we hadn’t found a flight plan yet,” said Proce. “We don’t know where he or she was coming from or going to.”Police and the coroner were on scene Wednesday afternoon. The pilot’s name has not been released.– with files by
a faint emergency signal Tuesday night, he says it might have gone undetected.“It’s always been my hobby to listen for these things.”Bardsley was the first to hear the siren sound of an Emergency Locator Transmitter on one of his radio scanners at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday.“I immediately phoned Victoria and they said they had no reports of it at that time,” he added.Bardsley, 46, who used to work for the ambulance service and fire departments, has been involved in amateur radio over the past 10 years and has five scanners in the house, with one permanently tuned to emergency frequencies.Barsley said he has heard numerous emergency beacons over the years, all false alarms. This was the first time it was a real crash.Commercial flights in the area, including a WestJet inbound for Kelowna, were asked to tune in and listen for the weak signal. Once it was confirmed, a Buffalo Search and Rescue aircraft was dispatched from Comox, and arrived on the scene just after midnight.Bardsley said he homed in on the signal using a special antenna and knew it was out to the west. From a video camera mounted on one of his radio masts he watched the sky light up to the west as the Buffalo dropped flares to illuminate the area around Bouleau Lake, about eight kilometres west of Westside Road.Vernon Search and Rescue were called in at 1:50 a.m., after the Buffalo failed to locate the wreck, which was eventually spotted by an RCMP helicopter Wednesday morning in daylight, he said.Vernon RCMP Cpl. Henry Proce confirmed an RCMP helicopter pilot found the wreckage. A team of at least 18 Vernon Search and Rescue volunteers made their way to the steep area to investigate.When they discovered the crash site, search and rescue crews found the pilot was dead.“This morning we hadn’t found a flight plan yet,” said Proce. “We don’t know where he or she was coming from or going to.”Police and the coroner were on scene Wednesday afternoon. The pilot’s name has not been released.– with files by 
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