CLOSE TO 40 people gathered early this morning at the Terrace Search and Rescue office before being divided into teams and heading out to look for two mushroom pickers missing since Sunday.
Volunteers, including friends of the missing men, were grouped with experienced search and rescue personnel from Terrace, Kitimat and the Vanderhoof area.
Ike Murray, 26, and Michael Devlin Sabo, 32, have been missing since Sunday when they did not return at a set time to meet up with a third man.
The three set off by boat on the Skeena River east of Terrace Sunday, Sept. 22 headed toward the Lorne Creek area on the north side of the river.
Murray and Sabo went off together when the boat docked and when they did not return as scheduled, the third man came back to town to summon help.
Searching began the next day with the numbers of those involved growing as each day passes.
A helicopter donated by Lakelse Lake Air was used at first and a RCMP helicopter has now joined the search.
Searchers were checked for appropriate gear and boots to ensure they had food, water and first aid kits before setting out.
“We're expecting the weather to turn,” said one of the trained search and rescue personnel at the search and rescue office.
“We're going to go up as high as we can and then we'll make a field call,” he said.
The area is described as fairly flat down below but covered in dense bush before turning into steep terrain.