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North Shore Rescue selects new team leader BRENT RICHTER
brichter@nsnews.com
Scott Merriman has been helping North Shore Rescue since before he even joined the team.
On a trek to Crown Mountain more than a dozen years ago, some hikers came upon backpacks, seemingly abandoned along the trail – often a sign of trouble in the backcountry. Sufficiently worried that someone was in need of help, Merriman called 911 and was eventually put on the phone with legendary North Shore Rescue team leader Tim Jones, who began mobilizing a search. It turned out to be a false alarm, but the call proved fateful. “It was my first unofficial introduction to the team and it looked like kind of a neat thing to get involved with,” he said. “I liked the outdoors and what better way to merge the outdoors with giving back to the community.” Merriman, who has been a member of North Shore Rescue for the last 13 years, was officially named the new team leader last week following the departure of Mike Danks (see story Page A5). Like a lot of rescuers, Merriman still feels that compulsion to help like he did with the abandoned backpack. “We don’t always have good outcomes, but it certainly feels good when you can reunite somebody with their loved one,” said the 41-year-old electrical engineer from Deep Cove. In his years as a volunteer, Merriman has been promoted up to a search manager and air operations co-ordinator. If you’re familiar with images of rescuers dangling on a long line below a helicopter, there’s a good Continued on A44
North Shore Rescue team leader Scott Merriman gets ready for action at the team’s North Vancouver base. BRENT RICHTER / NSN