By Spencer Sterritt

Rescue story: Team speaks of how they found missing hiker Spencer Hunt

Jan 31, 2017 | 3:28 PM

NANAIMO — One of the men who found missing hiker Spencer Hunt said they were just at the right place at the right time.

Mark Koch found Hunt with his friend Scott Banner. He and his other real estate friends Phil Gonyer and Rick Horsland had taken Monday, Jan. 30 off work to help with the substantial search effort. None of them are part of a search and rescue team.

“It spoke to me. I said why wouldn’t I go and give my time when we can,” Koch told NanaimoNewsNOW.

The four of them set off into the forest on their quads to areas which hadn’t yet been searched. Koch said they saw a helicopter circling where Hunt was believed to be and heard over their radios a location had been pinpointed.

Finding and rescuing Hunt wasn’t as simple as rolling up on their bikes and giving him a ride back to the command centre though.

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Hunt was down in a steep 200 ft. ravine which Koch and Banner had to get down, navigating a cliff and slippery spots due to snow.

“Going down was challenging,” Koch said. “We were able to traverse our way along the side of it to a part that wasn’t quite as steep, but we still had to slide on our butts all the way down.”

At the bottom they were greeted by a ecstatic Hunt.

“He was excited to see us. He was happy, relieved, cold, tired, hungry and fatigued.”

The climb back up the ravine was just as difficult. Koch and Banner flanked Hunt and they crawled all the way back out.

In the short time they spent together, Koch said he heard about what Hunt had been doing out in the wilderness.

“He said the first night he was out he wasn’t that concerned but by the second day he started getting pretty scared.”

Hunt was dehydrated and close to hypothermia, Koch said.

Though they’re pleased to be part of the happy ending for Hunt and his family, Koch said he and his friends were just a small piece of a much larger puzzle. “If it wasn’t for that planning and coordination we wouldn’t have known where to go. We just happened to be at the right place at the right time.”

They visited Hunt and his family in hospital Tuesday morning. Koch said the family was ecstatic to know their son is safe and Hunt was happy to be warm and fed.

“It was pretty cool,” Koch said of being able to bring the family closure and relief.

spencer.sterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit