Article content

In treacherous conditions, deep in the wilderness and far from well-trodden trails off Burke Mountain, a soft mutter and chorus of barking dogs let search teams know they’d succeeded in a remarkable task.

Around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, two days after Annette Poitras had gone missing with three dogs she’d been walking, a search-and-rescue team radioed colleagues to say their sound sweeps had worked and they’d made voice contact with the 56-year-old mother.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Missing dog walker found alive after two days lost in Coquitlam back country Back to video

The canine trio — a border collie named Chloe, a Puggle named Bubba and a boxer named Roxy – appeared to be in good spirits.

“I know from the field guys, when they radioed in, they had faint voice contact with her but the dogs were going crazy,” said incident commander Al Hurley of Coquitlam Search and Rescue.

Photo by Jason Payne / PNG

Poitras was found in a marshy basin in the Coquitlam Watershed area off Burke Mountain, north of where she’d been reported missing Monday afternoon.

She was conscious and speaking, but had suffered minor injuries following a slip that prevented her from hiking to safety on her own. Her rescuers changed her into some dry clothes and administered first aid.

Photo by Jason Payne / PNG

Around noon, a few dozen search-and-rescue team members, well-wishers and media gathered on a putting green at Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club in Coquitlam to watch as teams prepared for a longline rescue to extract her.

Heavy wind and rain arrived just as their helicopter took off but, 20 minutes later and on schedule, Poitras and her rescuers returned, dangling from the cable below.

Poitras’ husband, Marcel, had came to watch the harrowing operation with his brothers, Gerry and Andre. He was thrilled at the outcome.