Hiker found alive after going missing in Canadian wilderness for more than 5 weeks

Police say a hiker who was reported missing more than five weeks ago amid frigid conditions in northern British Columbia has been found alive.

Northern Rockies RCMP say Sam Benastick was spotted on Tuesday when he flagged down two workers on a trail to Redfern Lake, about 250 kilometres southwest of Fort Nelson.

They recognized him and took him to hospital, where police confirmed he was the missing man.

Police say Benastick, who started what was supposed to be a 10-day camping trip on Oct. 7, told officers that he had spent time in his car, then camped out in at least two locations.

Mike Reid, general manager of the Buffalo Inn in Pink Mountain, B.C., where Benastick’s family stayed during the search efforts, says he spoke to the hiker’s father, who told him the young man had been found.

RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson says in a statement that finding Benastick alive was “the best possible outcome.”

“After all the time he was missing, it was feared that this was would not be the outcome.”

Temperatures in the region have recently dipped to about -20 C with snow falling.

Benastick’s family reported him missing on Oct. 19, after he failed to return from the trip in the area of Redfern-Keily Provincial Park.