Snowmobiler found safe after spending entire stormy night outdoors

A 24-year-old snowmobiler who disappeared near Bathurst as more than 40 centimetres of snow fell was found safe and sound Friday morning after spending the entire night outdoors.

Pier-Alexandre Haché Désilets, who was visiting from Quebec, survived the night — without frostbite — with the help of a heated helmet and warm gear he'd just bought in Bathurst, said his mother, Francyne Haché.

At mid-morning Friday, volunteer searcher Denis Leger found Désilets in Salmon Beach, about 10 kilometres northeast of Bathurst on the Bay of Chaleur.

"Everthing is fine," Haché said. 

Haché said her son is currently at a camp, warming up and drying off his gear.

"It's not like he was staying in a five-star," she said.

Désilets was in touch with a friend via cellphone until about 8 p.m., when communication stopped, his mother said.

By 2 a.m., Bathurst had received 43 centimetres of snow during the major storm that hit the province Thursday and into Friday, Environment Canada said.  

​His mother said Désilets had gone to Bathurst earlier in the day because he wanted to have his Yamaha snowmobile checked.

"I told him not to go," she said, because he didn't know the area well and the storm was coming.

Désilets made it to Bathurst, then left around 1:30 p.m., heading for the area of Trudel and Saint-Amateur on the Acadian Peninsula. His mother lives in nearby Burnsville, and he's been visiting her for the past two weeks.

Désilets never reached his destination.

His mother said the last piece of information her son sent out before his phone died was about a sign he saw, "St-Isidore / Grande-Anse."

Haché said she lit a candle for her son and her prayers were answered. She is thankful for everyone who helped with the search and spread the word on social media.

Firefighters, police, family friends and community members began a search for him Friday morning.