Stranded Couple Survives Cold Night On Lake

Stranded Couple Survives Cold Night On Lake

Monday, January 15, 2007 at 13:23

A 68-year-old Dene woman is recounting how she and her partner managed to survive a cold night out on Wollaston Lake.

Monique Sylvestre and Ernest Dzeylion became stranded on the lake in -40 degree Celsius weather sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 Wednesday morning after their truck broke down.

Sylvestre says they had no heat in the truck, and no blankets, but they did have a couple of candles — and they kept moving their hands and feet.

They were 20 kilometres from the community of Wollaston Lake, and 500 metres from shore — but decided to stay in their vehicle for fear of freezing to death on their way to shore.

Sylvestre says they eventually started a fire using a few of the truck’s tires and some gasoline.

She estimates they were stranded for five or six hours before some conservation officers on snow machines noticed their fire and came to their rescue.

Both Sylvestre and Dzeylion were very cold at the end of their ordeal, but otherwise unharmed