By Rhonda Kolcun - Williams Lake Tribune Published: September 25, 2009 7:00 PM
McLeese Lake resident Gordon Kolcun is very grateful to his daughters, Marlaina and Kaytlin, for giving him a GPS Satellite SPOT Lo
The next day, Gordon and his dad were hunting approximately two hours out of Chetwynd when his dad had an ATV accident.The ATV ended up on top of Clarence. Gordon turned, saw what happened, got back to his dad in seconds and quickly removed the ATV. His dad was lying there unconscious and bleeding from his head. After Gordon woke him up, he realized that the SPOT Locater unit was back at the truck eight kilometres away, so he told his dad he would be right back and drove to the truck, picked the unit up and then got back to his dad as fast as the rough terrain would allow him.He pushed the 911 emergency button and hoped it worked.
Meanwhile, back at McLeese Lake, Gordon’s wife Rhonda received a call from Texas about 20 minutes later advising that the 911 emergency beacon had been deployed from the unit.They had the RCMP on the line and wanted her to call them with details of the truck and the men.It was a harrowing experience for his family not knowing what had happened, but they were comforted knowing that help was on its way to Gordon and his dad.
The RCMP and Search and Rescue were sent out to the latitude and longitude co-ordinates that the SPOT Locater deployed.Gordon kept his dad awake by constantly talking to him and hoping that help was on its way. He tried moving him but realized that his dad had suffered some kind of internal injuries and could not be moved. At this point, Gordon pushed another button, which generated a help e-mail to his wife and daughters, hoping they would contact the RCMP, as he had no idea what was happening. Gordon was very relieved to hear the Search and Rescue ATVs in the mid afternoon.The emergency response team assessed the situation and called in a rescue helicopter to carry Clarence to the Chetwynd Hospital, and then he went by ambulance to the Fort St. John Hospital.
Gordon was very choked by the entire incident, but with Search and Rescue’s help, he got the two ATVs back to camp, packed it up and made his way to Fort St. John, as his number one priority was to be with his dad. Clarence was in the Fort St. John hospital for five days with a broken shoulder blade, broken ribs, bruises, and cuts. He was then flown to Vancouver.He is now recuperating at home and will be for at least six weeks.
Gordon has nothing but praise for the Chetwynd RCMP, the BC Ambulance Service and Search and Rescue.He is grateful for friends who jumped in with help when needed as well. Lynn and Luke Letain from Fort St. John were there for Gordon by providing support and their home during his stay.
Gordon says he is definitely sold on the GPS SPOT Locater now. He will take it with him on every trip he goes on, and it won’t be sitting at the back of the truck next time.He credits the unit with saving his dad’s life, as it would have been several hours before he could have gotten his dad out of the bush, and with all of the bouncing around on the ATV, he may have suffered more internal injuries.Gordon and his dad have been hunting together for more than 40 years, with the last 20 being in the Chetwynd area.They have never had any incidents which would have required help to this degree and are amazed at the timing of this gift.
The Chetwynd RCMP have said they have had a few calls for rescue from these units and highly recommend them to anyone who is going out in the bush.They save lives as Gordon and his dad Clarence very well know.
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