Girl found in frozen slough rushed to hospital

SASKATOON An 11-year-old girl suffering from hypothermia and other injuries was rushed to Wynyard hospital after she was found face down near a frozen slough outside the Saskatchewan community of Bankend.

According to RCMP, the Wynyard detachment received a call Thursday at 5:13 p.m. from a mother about her missing daughter.

Police said the mother was away from the home and the girl had been home sick, and that the girl was believed to have left on her own between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. When the mother returned, she saw footprints in the snow.

“After following the tracks as far as she could and checking with neighbours, the mother called police for assistance,” RCMP said.

The search had been underway for about two hours when a local volunteer found a set of tracks just outside the search area. The volunteer followed the footprints in a 4x4 truck across a field, through light bush and toward a slough about six kilometres outside the hamlet, where searchers “located the girl collapsed face down in the snow but still alive,” RCMP said.

An RCMP spokesman on Friday said the girl remained in hospital.

The wind chill around the time was -17 C. The spokesman said the girl was dressed appropriately for the weather and wearing winter clothing when she was found.

Bankend is about 160 kilometres northeast of Regina.