Latest Incident: 10/12/24 The Team's Canoe section were deployed to search the river Tees as part of the continued search for the missing female from Darlington. Three paddlers... More details
24th May 2021 THREE MISSING LADIES
Ladies spend night in barn while Mountain Rescue team searches for them.
On Sunday morning three ladies from Durham set out from Middleton in Teesdale to complete a testing circular walk around the upper dale. The ladies, all experienced walkers, were about half way along their planned route when one of them turned their ankle. Unable to go back due to the difficult terrain, they decided to follow the river Tees hoping that they would be able to cross at some point. After some time they spotted the remote farmhouse at Birkdale. With the weather closing in and the rain getting worse they managed to cross a stream and get to the farm, only to find that there was nobody in!
Now persistently raining they took shelter in a shed next to the house, and there they stayed until first light, not knowing that one of their husbands had reported his concern for them because they had no phone signal. At about 23.30hrs the Teesdale and Weardale Mountain Rescue team were called out, gathering in Middleton to plan a search. The police helicopter also came to perform a fly over of the area. Several team members along with three search dogs set out from various locations to search a large area of land from Middleton, past high force and taking in stretches of the pennine way. The three ladies were still completely unaware of the drama surrounding them as they saw no way to raise the alarm.
As Dawn broke, the police helicopter returned and team leader Steve Owers contacted other search teams to come and help, bearing in mind the Teesdale and Weardale team had now been searching all night in some appalling conditions. As the sun rose the three ladies decided to walk out to find help or atleast a phone signal, but one of the first things they saw was a Mountain Rescue vehicle parked close by! They were soon spotted by team members and taken to safety in Middleton still blissfully unaware of the efforts to find them which had taken place. Thankfully all were well, if a little cold, but extremely grateful to see the Rescue team
Notes For Editor Teesdale
& Weardale Search & Mountain Rescue Team are affiliated to the "Mountain
Rescue - England and Wales". We provide a Search and Rescue service throughout
County Durham and beyond primarily for the Police but also for the other emergency
services. All Team members are volunteers and we rely on monies raised by ourselves
as a registered charity to run the Team. Further details regarding our latest
callouts and Team information can be found on our website www.twsmrt.org.uk
