It was smiles all around on Thursday evening when searchers located 68-year-old Charlotte Burch, who went missing from her residence in Wardner on Monday, July 25.
Burch's vehicle was found off TeePee Creek Road on Wednesday evening, which narrowed down the scope of the search area. Search and Rescue teams from several communities in the area, police service dogs, family, friends and volunteers mobilized Thursday morning and scoured the slopes near the car.
Just as the search was winding down for the night, around 8:30 pm, searchers found Charlotte Burch, sitting on a stump, about six kilometres from her vehicle. She was alive and well and appeared coherent. Burch was immediately transported to the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook where she was checked over to ensure she had not suffered any serious injuries.
Charlotte Burch disappeared on Monday; she was last seen driving away from her residence on the Wardner-Kikomun Road, south of Wardner, around noon. She told family members that she was going to visit family members, who were camping six kilometres south of her residence, overlooking Lake Koocanusa. Although a neighbour saw Burch driving towards the campsite, she never arrived.
Charlotte Burch's family wants to thank everyone who assisted during the search, and the RCMP wants to pass along their thanks to the many volunteers who brought this search to a successful end.