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Missing Chilliwack teen escorted home by 91Ƶangels91Ƶ after helicopter crew spots him

91ƵTo see him walking back home was such a miracle,91Ƶ says mom of missing man, 19
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JJ was spotted by helicopter around the corner from home in what his mom is calling a miracle. (Anna Bonde photo)

It was Karen Wright91Ƶs idea to see if the missing teen could be spotted from the air.

The Chilliwack resident said she learned about the search for JJ, 19, who needed his anti-seizure medications, from a Fairfield Island Facebook page on Sunday (Aug. 29).

Wright thought she91Ƶd just take a drive and look around.

Then she had a better idea.

Her husband, John Faulkner, chief pilot for Librico Helicopters, was about to head out to Stave Lake to pick up a crew of passengers. What about asking his crew to keep an eye out on the return flight to Chilliwack, since he91Ƶd have the extra sets of eyes aboard?

So that91Ƶs what they did.

On the way back home, Faulkner flew over the Fairfield Island neighbourhood of Chilliwack with the plan to search in a grid pattern around the Bell Road farm that JJ had wandered away from either the night before, or early Sunday.

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91ƵIt was like looking for a needle in a haystack,91Ƶ Faulkner said. 91ƵThe chances are always slim that we91Ƶll find someone this way.91Ƶ

He orbited as low as possible and swept the area for 15 to 20 minutes. This was on the heels of two hours of extensive RCMP searches, with a police service dog and a helicopter, which did not turn up any sign of JJ.

All of sudden one of the helicopter passengers saw him.

A big clue they91Ƶd found the right person was that the figure among some abandoned machinery wasn91Ƶt wearing any shoes. He also had the same hair colour described in the missing person report.

91ƵWe felt strongly that we had found him,91Ƶ Faulkner said. The pilot wanted to be extra careful not to spook JJ by landing near him, but instead hovered nearby.

He scooted back to the farm. The passengers tried motioning to the searchers gathered below in the driveway, to show them where they had just spotted JJ.

They were waving to the spot where they saw him, about 350 metres from home, on the back acreage of a neighbouring property to the north.

From above, they could see two searchers walking toward JJ along a path, the 91Ƶangels91Ƶ as his mom later described them as they walked him home.

The helicopter hovered for about 10 minutes, hoping it would nudge JJ, who is non-verbal, toward the searchers.

91ƵThe strategy worked out perfectly,91Ƶ Faulkner said.

It all came together in terms of timing, and the community wanting to help.

91ƵFacebook always gets a bad rap but this was a prime example of how having the Fairfield Island community page really paid off,91Ƶ he said.

They called the sighting of the missing person into the non-emergency number of the local RCMP to no avail, and later Wright texted the man91Ƶs mother: 91ƵI believe my husband just found your son.91Ƶ

It91Ƶs 91Ƶamazing91Ƶ that they spotted him, Wright said, adding:

91ƵIt91Ƶs just a really happy way to end the story.91Ƶ

Anna Bonde, JJ91Ƶs mother, said her boy had been gone for 20 agonizing hours, and their family is 91Ƶvery thankful91Ƶ for the community and for their Fairfield neighbours who heeded the call for help.

91ƵTo see him walking back home was such a miracle,91Ƶ she said. 91ƵI could hardly believe it was true.

91ƵWe all went running toward him.91Ƶ

JJ was covered in scratches from blackberry brambles but otherwise safe.

He hadn91Ƶt taken meds or eaten anything in the hours since his mama found the door to their home wide open that morning at 6:30 a.m.

JJ was finally escorted home by a man and a woman.

91ƵI called them the two angels,91Ƶ Bonde said.

It was a good feeling to finally set eyes on her son.

91ƵI want to give God the most glory for answering prayers, and the community for being unbelievably helpful, which I had never experienced before,91Ƶ Bonde said.

91ƵWithout the selfless help of volunteers, and above all prayers that were prayed and answered above my expectations, this story could have had such a different ending.91Ƶ

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John Faulkner, chief pilot for Librico Helicopters. (Librico Helicopters photo)


Jennifer Feinberg

About the Author: Jennifer Feinberg

I have been a Chilliwack Progress reporter for 20+ years, covering city hall, Indigenous, business, and climate change stories.
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