Five teenage girls who disappeared while tubing down the river near Bowden were discovered safe by rescuers after an eight-hour ordeal.
The girls, ages 12 to 14, had been floating on tubes and rafts down the Little Red Deer River at Red Lodge Park on Wednesday when they failed to return to their departure location, as prearranged with relatives.
Family members searched the area for them for five hours before notifying the park’s conservation officer of their disappearance.
Police were told at about 5:40 p.m. that the missing girls were carrying no emergency supplies — or even shoes.
Innisfail RCMP arranged a search around the river, along with a park services ranger and Red Deer County Technical Rescue. This team is trained to complete water-based searches.
An airplane was in the process of being dispatched by the Civil Air and Rescue Association when the girls were finally located some eight hours after they went missing. A relative who had been involved in their search, came across the girls as they were returning to the park.
According to Innisfail RCMP, the teenagers were cold and had sore feet, but were otherwise in good spirits. The police press release did not state which community the girls were from, and no officer could be reached for comment on Thursday evening.
RCMP caution the public about the need for some level of emergency planning and preparedness in all outdoor adventures, especially those involving water.