For more than 30 years, Timmins Porcupine Search and Rescue, a volunteer-run non-profit, has helped police agencies find missing people and come to the aid of others.
“It’s usually when resources start to get a little tight for them and they call us out maybe after a day or two days and they start exhausting their resources and they lean on us," said Peter Delmonte, president Timmins Porcupine Search and Rescue.
“Should it be someone who perhaps has advanced Alzheimer’s or are not clothed for the environment or what have you. Those circumstances lead to a more intense sense of priority and this is typically when they get called in," said Marc Depatie, communications coordinator for Timmins Police Service.
"They have never let us down. They’re an absolutely vital community partner.”
Delmonte said a new trailer the organization recently purchased will act as a command post and give members a place to strategize, somewhere to warm up, cook and use a washroom.
It took five years of working bingos to save up enough money to buy it, and although team members only respond to a few local searches a year, they said it's important to be ready when a call does come in.
“Search and rescue is dear to my heart," said Delmonte.
"I’ve been involved for quite a while now. It’s the satisfaction of seeing a family reunited with their loved ones. We try to put boots on the ground just for that purpose. We’re out there in all kinds of weather, we work alongside the police to try to put families back together again when someone is missing.”
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Timmins Porcupine Search and Rescue has about 35 members and is hoping to attract more.
It provides the training and soon members will be able to be dispatched from coast to coast. All volunteers need to have is a willingness to help.
