Teenagers needed rescue when hypothermia took hold

MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. – Three teenagers who planned to camp on a mountain near Maple Ridge, B.C., had to be rescued when their equipment turned out to be insufficient for sub-zero temperatures. Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue says in a statement on its Facebook page that the three males sent out a distress call on their emergency satellite beacon Saturday evening while camping on Alouette Mountain. Rescuers called the group and determined they were only lightly equipped and not fully prepared to spend a night in the snow. The team sent out to retrieve the trio encountered a slowdown with a punctured tire on its off-road vehicle and a second team was forced to hike to the camping site. Crews found two of the teenagers soaking wet from the hike up, and without a stove or other heat source they were beginning to suffer from hypothermia. Rescuers kept the teens warm until a helicopter picked them up at first light Sunday, and they were sent to hospital for evaluation.