N.W.T. searchers turn to infrared technology to find mushroom picker missing for 3 days
Search continues for woman from Czech Republic who was last seen Monday afternoon
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- RCMP reported the woman was found safe on July 7, 2017.
Since this story was first published, the woman was found safe. For details, follow this link.
A search for a mushroom picker near the N.W.T.'s Reid Lake is now in its third day, as police, military personnel, and search and rescue continue to scour the area for any sign of a missing woman from the Czech Republic.
The woman, who police have declined to name at the request of the family, was reported missing on Tuesday morning after being last seen on Monday at about 4 p.m.
Her fellow mushroom pickers, who are now assisting in the search, said that she is an inexperienced picker and it was just her third day looking for morel mushrooms in the bush.
On Thursday, police said the search was assisted by a Transport Canada Dash 8 equipped with infrared technology. Police are also being assisted by volunteers from Yellowknife Search and Rescue and the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, as well as the Canadian Forces' 440 Transport Squadron.
RCMP have also said there is a chartered helicopter taking part in the search, as well as a drone and a dog unit.
Police are asking people not involved in the search to stay out of the area.
A mushroom-picking vacation
According to her fellow mushroom pickers, the woman is in her early 30s and was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants when she was last seen.
Morel mushroom picking has become increasingly popular in the Northwest Territories over the past few years, as pickers head into the bush to retrieve the valuable mushrooms from burned-out areas.
A relatively small harvest was expected in 2017, as commercial harvesters turned to more accessible parts of Canada with larger burned areas. The group of pickers the woman was camping with told CBC News that they met in the territory, travelling to pick mushrooms as part of their vacation.
This is not the first time a mushroom picker has been reported missing in recent years. Last year, a B.C. picker emerged from the bush after being lost for five days, while a N.W.T. woman was forced to wander through the bush for 12 hours after being cut off from a roadway by a wolf.
- 'I followed the sun': Mushroom picker recounts 5 days lost in Yukon bush
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In a news release Thursday, RCMP issued a reminder to take necessary precautions when travelling into remote areas, including carrying a communication device such as a satellite phone and a GPS, and to work in pairs and closely to one another.