The Cardinal family, with much of the community at Saddle Lake, gathered together at the Manitou Kehiw arena complex to celebrate their gratefulness to those who helped them out during troubled times.
Leslie and Bonnie Cardinal expressed a heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped in the effort to track down their son Haylen, 18, when he got lost taking a shortcut home, on foot, from his friend’s house on April 14.
“He was home Saturday night,” explains Bonnie Cardinal, Haylen’s mother, as she recounts the events. “His friends picked him up, and we didn’t even know he left until around six the next morning. We had an appointment in Edmonton and left Sunday at 8 p.m. We waited at home for him all day long. After asking his friends, and finding out they didn’t know, we called the RCMP.”
A missing persons report was filed and family found out from the boy who drove him out, that Haylen had left on foot. The roads were muddy where he was, and he declined the offer to get a ride home, explained Bonnie.
“When we found that out, we started to get family and friends involved, looking for him. We posted a picture on Facebook, and we received a groundswell of support. People from Smoky Lake, Goodfish Lake, all over, came out with their vehicles, looking to help us out.”
The following morning, Bonnie explains, a search party was sent out, and missing person posters were posted. Ken Dion took over the search party, which involved dogs and quads, and the community went out to help in full force.
“I was walking home from a buddy’s house. I’d never been there before and wanted to take a shortcut home,” says Haylen, as he offers some details on what happened. “I ended up trying to cut through the bush and hit a dead end. Since there was no snow, I couldn’t retrace my tracks, and ended up going a random way that didn’t take me back the way I came. I was lost for two days before they found me.”
Haylen tried to find his way home, and eventually had to take off some of his clothes because they were soaked and freezing in cold weather. He lost a shoe trying to cross a creek and ended up sleeping in a hunter’s blind. Locals Elmer Delver and Steven Delver, who were searching on horseback, eventually found Haylen, asleep, on April 16.
“They sent people in forensics to ask for dental records and a DNA sample,” explains Bonnie. “They found something, but they couldn’t say at the time. Then Leslie called . . . they found him in the bush, put him on a snowmobile and then an ambulance.”
She continues saying, “His vitals were low. His feet and ankles were badly swollen. But by the next day he was eating well, and the color was back in his feet. We are very thankful to all the people who came. All the prayers counted. We were a little shocked people came and took over. It really was awesome.”
Haylen and his parents gathered to present the award plaques to those involved in an emotional presentation. They thanked everyone involved, extoling members in the community for their helpfulness and care in the Cardinal family’s time of need.
“The community came together to save Haylen. I hope the young man has a good life, a good future,” says Saddle Lake council member Sam Cardinal.
“It’s still fresh in our mind,” says Leslie, Haylen’s father. “How everyone came together to help us in our time of need on April 14, it’s truly touching. It’s great to see everyone here appreciating life, coming together like this again.”
A meal was served to guests, followed by a congratulatory cake. The first plaque was given to Shannon Houle and Dion for their efforts in the search and rescue team. Houle explains that she used her connections through social media and the Idle No More movement to garner support for the effort.
“I know as a mother, the kind of worry you’d feel in a situation like that,” explains Houle. “The poster was all over before long. I knew, we all knew, that time was of the essence.”
Two plaques were awarded to Elmer and Steven Delver, the riders on horseback that found Haylen asleep and frostbitten in an old sleeping bag he used to keep warm.
“This award belongs to the community,” Elmer explained, when he was presented with the plaque, referring to the integral efforts from everyone involved.
The fourth plaque was given to Jason Whiskeyjack, a councillor who coordinated the rescue efforts, and kept everyone on task as the search for Haylen went on.
“It was overall a good exercise to show how we can depend on the community,” says Coun. Sam Cardinal. “The protocol for the event today was what we usually do – prayer, a feast, and then encouraging everyone to take something home. I think even today, how we conduct ourselves here shows how close a community we are.”
