Yorkton hunters rescued in tough terrain

Three Yorkton hunters had a night they won’t soon forget.
 
The men in their 30s had gone moose hunting Thursday north of Prairie River, which is northwest of Hudson Bay. In a release, RCMP say it appears the the hunters attempted to cross a swamp using an Argo, but were unsuccessful.  
 
They were able to text their families saying they were wet, couldn’t start a fire and needed help.
 
RCMP got a call at 7:15 p.m. and responded locating two abandoned quads but found a swamp area impassable by quad or foot thanks to 20 inches of fresh snow, many muskeg areas to cross and a thin layer of ice on the swamp.
 
They started to search for the hunters and sent texts trying to determine their location. At 5 a.m. Friday, a search and rescue team was deployed to the area.
 
RCMP say it was at 9:30 that morning when search and rescue arrived. It requested the assistance of the Canadian Armed Forces and deployed a C-130 Hercules to locate the hunters from the air and determine exact GPS coordinates.
 
The plane managed to drop a radio to the hunters to establish and maintain contact until ground rescue arrived. 
 
After more than 20 hours in the cold, the hunters were rescued suffering from minor injuries related to exposure and hypothermia.