Port Alice RCMP found the senior, who lives alone with his dog on a sprawling former mine site, at the bottom of an eight-foot [2.4 metre] well shaft, "through a two foot wide opening," on Wednesday. "He stepped on the wooden cover and it basically disintegrated under him and he fell in and couldn't get out," longtime friend and business partner Barry Christenson said.
Although Christenson, who lives in nearby Port Hardy, often doesn't see his friend for extended periods, Bennett had told him that he would be in town in the next few days. "So this just didn't sit right with me that he hadn't shown up," he said. Christenson alerted police late on Tuesday night when he had not heard from his friend for several days.
"Mr. Christenson had gone to Bob's home, and found Bob's dog home alone, and other items left behind, which indicated Bob had not planned to be away for any length of time," Cpl. Darren Lagan said.
Members of the Provincial Emergency Program (PEP), along with the RCMP, began a daytime search of the mountainous property at first light Wednesday. A police dog, Nick, alerted his handler to a dry well shaft on the property, where officers found a relieved Bennett - with his sense of humour still intact. "When we were getting ready to take him out of there, he's going, 'No, no, no,"' Christenson said. "He said `I just put some soup on and make myself a sandwich, I'll be fine."'
Cpl. Michelle LeBrun, an officer who aided in the rescue, is nothing short of astonished about the incident. "Mr. Bennett, at 84-years-old, has shown us that age means nothing when you have the will to survive," LeBrun said in a statement. "He has left us with one of those stories that only come around once or twice in your career."
No comments:
Post a Comment