Kayakers lost on Glenelg River flagged down rescue helicopter with watch light

Two people from Mt Gambier who were lost while kayaking flagged down a rescue helicopter – thanks to some quick thinking from a teenager.

Police have praised the ingenuity of a teenager who used his watch light to flag down a rescue helicopter in Victoria’s far west.

Emergency services were alerted on Saturday night after two kayakers – the 13-year-old boy and a 51-year-old woman from Mt Gambier – failed to return to Keegans Bend Track in Drik Drik.

Police on the ground were assisted by the Air Wing and SES in searching for the pair.

But Police Air Wing Inspector Kelly Walker said it was ultimately the “quick-thinking actions” of the teenager, who used his watch light to draw the helicopter’s attention to his location, which led to the rescue yesterday morning.

“Our night vision picks up heat, so the pair were not standing out against the large number of wildlife that come out to play at night,” said Inspector Walker.

“However, his decision to shine a light appeared as a beacon which led crews to their exact location.”

The pair was found on the bank of the Glenelg River, near Laceys Lane, just after midnight and flown to safety.

Kayakers lost on the Glenelg River signalled their presence to the police helicopter and they were rescued and reunited with their family in Portland.

None of the kayakers was injured, and they were reunited with family in Portland.

Ross Atkins has operated a canoe hire business nearby for 27 years and he said people often get confused on the river.

“Sometimes the wind pushes the water to make it look like you are going downstream when you are actually going upstream,” he said.

“From where they would have launched, if you head up-stream, it becomes quite narrow and there are no campsites.”

He said the natural instinct is to keep going.

“Then you don’t realise how far you’ve actually gone and all of a sudden you’re several kilometres away from a camp spot,” he said.

“There is very little signage so people look at a map and think they can go from point A to B, but the river is actually quite dry and difficult to traverse the further you go upstream.”

He said a similar inciden occurred a week ago.

“With about 15 minutes of light left in the day, a woman knocked on one of the two private cabins up that way and fortunately the owners happened to be there,” he said.

“She was about 13km from the camp site.”

Inspector Walker said the incident was a timely reminder to ensure you have the right equipment when setting out for a paddle.

Kayakers paddling on the Glenelg River.