No results in hunt for missing mushroom picker despite high-tech search: RCMP

Despite a high-tech search in the area north of Smeaton, there still has been no success in finding a missing 74-year-old mushroom picker who has been missing for nearly a week.

Lois Chartrand was last seen on the morning of Aug. 4 while she was searching for mushrooms in the area. The RCMP said she became separated from the person she was with, despite the pair still being connected by a two-way radio.

Staff Sgt. Conrad Logan with the Saskatchewan RCMP joined Gormley on Wednesday with an update on the search. He said Chartrand’s companion removed the muffler from his ATV to make noise and attract her attention, but while Chartrand got close enough to hear the vehicle, Logan said she wasn’t able to find her way out of the forest.

“Unfortunately, they weren’t able to hook up and find each other, and he eventually came out and called in to us,” Logan said.

Police were able to contact Chartrand on her radio early the next morning, Logan said, but have not heard from her since then.

The RCMP put out a call for volunteers with knowledge of the area, and Logan said the search has included police, volunteers from “all over Saskatchewan,” an RCMP helicopter, infrared cameras, a police plane, and drones.

“One night we kept a police vehicle out there and kept our overhead red and blues on, and then hit the siren every once in a while just in the event she was nearby,” Logan said.

Chartrand has been picking mushrooms for 30 years and has previously found her way out of the bush after becoming lost, Logan said. But even seasoned hikers and pickers can quickly become disoriented or lost in the dense forest off the Hanson Lake Road.

“There’s several trails up there, and that’s a very popular place for people to pick mushrooms at, so they can get back a ways into the bush there,” he said.

“Even the most experienced person can get turned around in the boreal forest. We’re talking thick bush, heavy tree canopy.”

While Chartrand has been missing almost a full week, Logan said the searchers are still hopeful.

“Right now we’re considering her to be a missing person,” he said. “Our goal is to locate her and bring her home to her family.”

When she was reported missing, the RCMP said Chartrand was wearing blue jeans and a blue jacket. She stands five feet tall and weighs 90 pounds.