McNabs Island tourists rescued by helicopter after losing way

Two German tourists and a dog aresafely back on the mainlandafter being rescued by helicopter from McNabs Island late Thursday night.

The 70-year-old man and a 40-year-old man went to McNabs Island on Thursday to do some geocaching, said RCMP Cpl. Greg Church. The men were travelling with an 11-week-old German Shepherd puppy.

GeocachersuseGPSand other navigational techniques to find clues and hidden containers.

The two men were walking separately when the 70-year-old became "physically distressed" in the woods, Church said.

"He was trying to make it back to his launch pointbefore dark," Church said. "But because of where his location was he figured it would be past dark before he got back there if he retraced his steps.

"He decided to sort of take a straight line back, the quickest route back. And that's when he got into trouble because the terrain was quite difficult to negotiate."

The older mancalled for help from the 40-year-old, who went to meethim. Together they realized they would not be able to get out without aid. As night fell, the two mencalled 911.

According to the Friends of McNabs Island, 40 per cent of the trees on the island blew down during Hurricane Juan in 2003. The trails are clear, but the woods remaincluttered with brush.

RCMP, Halifax firefighters and crews from the Department of Natural Resourceswent to the island and formed two search parties to find the men.

Each search party explored a different trail, and they eventually found the two men. Because of the difficult terrain, emergency crews called fora militaryCormorant helicopter to get the menoff the island.

The helicopter took the men, along with the dog,to 12 WingShearwater, where they were checked by EHS. Both were uninjured.