A man from Riverhead, St. Mary’s Bay, has been found after an extended period of time missing in the wilderness over the weekend.
Ray O’Quinn was reported missing Sunday evening after leaving home on a trouting trip on Sunday morning.
The RCMP, Rovers, and Central Avalon Ground Search and Rescue Team, as well as the fire departments from Riverhead, St. Vincent’s, and St. Joseph’s were among the hundreds of people involved in the search.
Sixty-eight-year-old O’Quinn spent a bitterly cold Sunday night in the woods and things were not looking good when the search resumed early Monday morning.
Riverhead Fire Chief Earl Kielly says despite widespread search efforts that included the use of a helicopter it was “pure luck” that O’Quinn was located.
Les Martin and Bert White offered their services to help in the search and decided to check around Martin’s cabin, even though the area had already been searched.
Kielly says that’s when O’Quinn was finally spotted. He says the men were standing on the deck looking over the landscape when they spotted O’Quinn walking in the country. They were the ones who managed to retrieve him, bring him back, and warm him up.
Kielly thanks the many agencies and local residents who came together in the search effort.
