Chilliwack Search and Rescue activated for river rescue Tuesday

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack Search and Rescue personnel were activated Tuesday morning to help reach an adult male who had been living in the bush on an island in the Chilliwack River.

The successful river rescue unfolded sometime between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. as at least seven SAR volunteers were deployed to reach a single adult male, later identified as Robert. Two Chilliwack RCMP units were dispatched to the scene as well.

Robert told Fraser Valley Today that he had been living alone by himself on an island containing a large rock, located approximately 150 metres east of the Vedder Bridge, and sought shelter under a tarp. Robert wore an olive green jacket and pants and a red cap or hoodie.

Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / An RCMP officer speaks with a gentleman named Robert who was rescued from the Chilliwack River Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 5). Robert had been living in the bush on an island in the Chilliwack River but needed assistance evacuating due to rising river levels from Monday’s heavy rain.