2 hikers camping together hospitalized after knife fight on B.C.'s Mount Seymour
Men had been camping together, made separate 911 calls hours apart to ask for help: RCMP
Two men who'd been camping together on Mount Seymour in North Vancouver have been taken to hospital with knife wounds after an incident between the pair early Thursday.
RCMP said both men made separate 911 calls — hours apart — asking for help after the altercation.
The first hiker phoned for an ambulance from the Dog Mountain trail just after 5 a.m. PT. RCMP Cpl. Richard De Jong said the man was "distraught."
Mounties, search and rescue crews, several ambulances and the RCMP's Emergency Response Team (ERT) all responded.
Heavily armed members of the ERT found the hiker with knife wounds about a kilometre from the trailhead just before 7:30 a.m. PT. A waiting ambulance took him to hospital.
At that time, De Jong said, officers "were led to believe [the hiker] was by himself" — but a second 911 call came in from the trail an hour later.
Another hiker suffering knife wounds said he needed medical help, too. RCMP found him in the same area where they'd found the first hiker.
Teams have just loaded the patient into an ambulance. Extent of injuries unknown. <a href="https://twitter.com/nvanrcmp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nvanrcmp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NSRescue?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NSRescue</a> <a href="https://t.co/ccQQKBds5Y">pic.twitter.com/ccQQKBds5Y</a>
—@gpsmendozaSpeaking at a news conference later in the morning, De Jong said the men — both believed to be in their 30s — know each other and had been camping together on the trail.
"Something happened with an altercation and they were injured," said De Jong. "We don't know who perpetrated, who was the victim and who was the aggressor."
The officer said there is no threat to public safety and investigators aren't looking for any suspects.
He said the first hiker didn't say he knew there was a second man in the woods.
"We were surprised ... that a second call came in for another second person," De Jong said.
A statement said both men are from the Lower Mainland. De Jong said he couldn't confirm how serious their injuries are or what kind of knife may have been used.
The department said an investigation is "fluid and ongoing," with support services on scene.
The snowshoe area at Dog Mountain has been closed to the public as investigators gather evidence and look for witnesses.
The road to Mount Seymour was closed for more than an hour, but has since reopened. Ski hills are also open.
The Dog Mountain trail is an easy route, popular among snowshoers and hikers, but not typically used for overnight camping. A round trip is about five kilometres.
With files from Gian-Paolo Mendoza