CTV.ca News Staff
 
Updated: Thu. Feb. 26 2009 11:14 PM ET

The RCMP said it was in "error" for not launching a search operation soon after receiving reports of an SOS written on a snowy B.C mountainside, where rescuers later found a man and his deceased wife.

Gilles Blackburn, 50, and his wife Marie-Josee Fortin, 44, spent ten days in the rugged wilderness near Golden, B.C. without food or shelter.

Blackburn was finally rescued Tuesday, but his wife had already died, presumably from exposure. Blackburn told his brother that Fortin died two days before he were rescued.

At least three times after the pair went missing on Feb. 15, helicopters spotted the SOS signals, which the couple had written into the snow with their footprints.

But a rescue effort wasn't initiated until Tuesday, Feb. 24, when a helicopter spotted Blackburn waving his arms for help.

Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told a news conference in Golden on Thursday that an independent review will be called into why it took so long to start the search.

"There's an error on the part of the RCMP for not initiating a callout on Feb. 21," he said. "Search and rescue should have been called out on Feb. 21."

Here is the timeline of events that are believed to have unfolded:

• Feb. 15 - The couple arrived in Golden after checking out of a hotel in Alberta. They didn't check into a new hotel, but immediately hit the slopes at the Kicking Horse resort. Later, they went out of bounds for some backcountry skiing, but became lost.
• Feb. 17 - A ski guide spotted an SOS signal that the couple had marked in the snow. The Golden and District Search and Rescue team and Kicking Horse resort were alerted. But a search of the resort parking lots for abandoned vehicles turned up nothing. The couple had parked their vehicle in underground parking, which was not searched. Neither did a search for missing ski rental equipment or missing persons reports from local hotels. The Golden RCMP detachment was not contacted.
• Feb. 21 - Two more SOS messages were found by ski groups. RCMP were called. They contacted Kicking Horse, who told them that the signal had already been investigated.
• Feb. 23 - The couple's family filed a missing persons report after the pair failed to return to their home in the Montreal suburb of Lasalle.
• Feb. 24 - Search and rescue was finally dispatched after a man waving his arms was spotted by a helicopter. Within an hour, Blackburn was rescued and his wife's frozen body was recovered.

'Incredible' tale of survival

Ian Foss, manager of the volunteer-run Golden and District Search and Rescue said that in B.C., search and rescue members can't respond to an incident without the RCMP, B.C. Ambulance, the coroner or the military telling them to do so.

Foss told Newsnet that when he was finally able to pick up Blackburn, he told him that they had walked for days, trying to find their way out and then stopping to create shelters as they went.

"It's pretty incredible that he actually survived," Foss said. "Ten days in the Canadian wilderness in the winter is pretty significant."

As for why the rescue wasn't launched sooner, the RCMP said in a statement on their website that Kicking Horse staff told police they had already looked into the SOS sighting and found nothing.

The police agency added that the employee at Kicking Horse they spoke with is also a Provincial Emergency Preparedness member "who was aware of the incident of the 17th."

It's still not clear how the couple, who had brought along only two granola bars, survived, nor at what point Fortin died.

There was a nearby creek from which to drink and Blackburn may have eaten foliage to survive, police have said. The nights were particularly cold, dipping to -15C.

At one point, Blackburn slipped through some ice and ended up knee deep in water, but the couple trudged on, CTV's Janet Dirks reported Thursday.

Mark Goodchild, president of the Golden Kicking Horse Alpine Team, said the area where the skiers were lost is very steep, rugged terrain, and it's not the first time someone's been lost on the hill for multiple days.

"If you don't know what you're doing, you can find yourself in a lot of trouble very, very fast," he said.

However, Yvon Blackburn, the brother of Gilles, said the couple were experienced outdoor enthusiasts.

Yvon Blackburn said his brother told him that the couple followed ski tracks which led them further into the backcountry.

And when they realized they were lost, the pair kicked into survival mode.

Blackburn was released from hospital Wednesday after being treated for frostbite and other symptoms of exposure.

An autopsy will be conducted on Fortin this weekend.

Fortin, a former nurse, was the mother of one son and one daughter, reported CTV Montreal's Tarah Schwartz.