Safe! North Shore Rescue find Mount Strachan hiker, dog in 'good health'
Man and dog walk out as NSR team members prepare to start search again Sunday
A missing Mt. Strachan hiker has been found before a Sunday morning search could resume for the man and his dog.
Rescuers say the man was well-equipped, fit and simply got lost after he chased after his dog through some "tough terrain" on Cypress.
North Shore Rescue suspended efforts early Sunday morning just after 2:30 a.m PT, and resumed the search at 7 a.m. P.T.
"As our groups were arriving the subject walked out. He'd been basically walking all night," said search manager Greg Miller of NSR.
"He's in good health and the dog is also with him and in good health."
The man's tracks were initially located at the Mt. Strachan summit just before midnight on Saturday, but fresh snowfall obscured the search.
"We would caution against doing this type of trip solo this time of year," added Miller.
At the time there were fears of avalanche danger.
"The avalanche danger is increasing ... we've had 30 centimetres of new snow up there," said NSR Team Leader Mike Danks.
The man, in his early 40s, was hiking with his dog and had reached the summit of Mt. Strachan on Saturday.
He contacted his wife around 5 p.m., saying his plan was to be back at his car within an hour, but did not contact her again after that.
Danks said the man was prepared and was carrying extra equipment with him but attempts to get his cell phone location and use Instagram contacts to find him did not help.
With files from Susan McNamee