As many people know, my name is Esther Wang. I am located in Langley, BC and I enjoy playing sports, reading, hanging out with friends and watching movies. Many people would describe me as encouraging, considerate, helpful and outgoing. In the past, I have attended many outdoor activities with my school and other extracurricular activities. I love spending time outdoors and experiencing its beauty. My youth group containing four people including me had planned a camping trip at Golden Ears Provincial Park from June 26 to June 28. The plan was to do one hike per day, but things didn’t go according to plan.
It is true that participating in the Air Cadet program may have saved my life. I joined when I was 12 years old and I have continued with the Air Cadet program for 4 years now. The information I have learned from aviation to survival skills played a huge role in my ability to sustain myself in the wilderness. For example, I have participated in my squadron’s FTX’s ( Field Training Exercise ) and I have gained essential knowledge about how to survive and what to do if something goes wrong.
There are many people that I would like to thank. First of all, I am extremely grateful for all the different Search and Rescue teams from across BC. As well, the Maple Ridge RCMP contributed immensely during my rescue operation. I would also like to recognize the many volunteers who relentlessly searched for me on the mountains during these past few days. To the Salvation Army, thank you for providing food and water to the search and rescue teams, volunteers and RCMP on site. I would like to thank my family for the endless love they show me every single day. You motivate me to pursue the best version of myself. To my friends, I would not be here without you. I am truly thankful for all the support and love you have shown me. It is incredible to think about how my past and present school communities, the 746 lightning hawk squadron community and the volleyball community rallied together and kept me in their prayers and thoughts. I will forever be grateful for the comfort and encouragement I have received. Moreover, I am tremendously touched by the prayers from the church community. God made a way for me to come home. I cannot express my gratitude for the media outlets and how the news about my disappearance was able to quickly spread. Also, I would like to thank the public for keeping me in your prayers and thoughts during the past few days.
I know there are many questions about how I went missing and I hope I can clarify any confusion. On June 27, me and 3 others headed on a hike for a youth activity. Out of the three other people in my group, one of them was an adult who acted as our leader for the whole camping trip. The trail we hiked was the Golden Ears trail. We started from our campsite at North Beach and we used the East West Canyon Connector to access the Golden Ears trail. For anyone who is unsure about the Golden Ears trail, the terrain is very challenging as it is steep with lots of rocks and bushes. My youth group made it to the first viewpoint called Golden Ears Viewpoint. As we started our descent, I tried to be as careful as possible making my way down. I was never lagging behind the group; rather, I was around 2 meters away from the rest of the group. At one point, the group made a turn somewhere along the trail, but I did not notice because I was solely concentrating on following the trail right in front of me. Because of this, I
turned the wrong way and ended up on the wrong path. Once I realized that the rest of my group was no longer in front of me, I tried to turn around, but I tripped and fell down until I reached a flatter part of the mountain. Scared and lonely, I curled into a ball and I tried to stay as calm as possible. Soon later, I started to hear whistles and noises that sounded like a signal. I started to climb the mountain towards the noises; however, I still could not locate the signals. By then, it was almost dark and my instinct was to find water. I trekked all the way down the mountain until I reached a river. Thankfully, I was able to refill my water bottles and I had packed food for the hike. I tried to get some sleep on the rocks nearby, but I was cold and freezing. Suddenly around one in the morning on June 28, I see spotlights above me flashing down at the mountains. I tried to flash my headlight towards the spotlights; however, they did not notice my desperate plea for help. I was filled with hopelessness and fear, but I knew I could not give up. The next morning at around 5 in the morning, I was determined to make my way home. Filled with courage, I decided to climb back up the same mountain in hopes to find the trail again. I spent the majority of the morning finding my way back up the mountain, but I still could not pinpoint the whistle sounds. I climbed back down the mountain and I moved further downstream. While I tried to climb down, my foot slipped off the rocks and I hit my head on the rocks. Thankfully, I did not lose consciousness and I was still able to move. Out of nowhere, I hear high pitch barking sounds in the distance. Motivated, I crossed the river and made my way up the other mountain to pursue the barking noises. I had to climb over cliffs, plow through bushes and make sure I wouldn’t fall down the mountain. All throughout the day, I saw a yellow helicopter fly over my head multiple times. I tried making noise, singing and even shaking nearby trees to grab their attention, but everything I tried failed. It took some time, but I was able to hike to the top of the mountain where I would rest on the second night. While I was trekking up the mountain, I used my phone to make noise in hopes that a person might hear it. Sadly, my phone was dying and it eventually dropped out of my pocket somewhere when I was hiking. Exhausted, I found a tree when nightfall came and I tried to get some rest for the next day. Again, I woke up at 5 in the morning on June 29 and I remembered that I took some pictures when I was hiking up on my digital camera. After glancing at the photos, I recognized a snowy peak that I passed when hiking up the mountain. Finally, I had some concrete direction I needed to go and I started to look for this landmark. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted my landmark and started to retrace my steps down the mountain. On my way down, I found a small creek and I filled my water bottles up again. Once I was down the mountain, I found a rapid river flowing downstream. As I continued to follow the river, I noticed pink tape on some trees around me and my hopes soared high. Eventually, I spotted a gravel path nearby the river. Filled with relief I followed the gravel trail until I hit a beach. The sign at the beach was labeled “Hiker’s Beach” and I knew I needed to get to the Gold Creek Parking Lot which was in the opposite direction according to the sign. So, I dragged my feet back to the river and crossed the rapid river as carefully as possible and followed the path. I never noticed my pain and soreness until I was forcing my body forward on the gravel path. I began to feel dizzy and I started to imagine things in front of me when there clearly wasn’t anyone around me. I continued to encourage myself to keep moving forward and to not give up yet. It was around 9:15 pm when the gravel road ended at the Gold Creek parking lot and I could see some people in the distance. I waved and immediately, I recognized my parents and I tried to run towards them. Although I was able to “walk out” of the mountain by myself, I could not have done it without the search and rescue
teams, police, volunteers and park rangers. They led the way and I was able to follow. Thankfully, there were park rangers nearby and they were able to radio the rescue team leader that I was safe. Afterwards, an ambulance came to check my physical state and make sure I was alright. They checked the many scratches and bruises all over my legs and arms as well as my head injury. Because I crossed the river many times, the wetness of my socks rubbing against my feet caused the back of my heels to bleed immensely. The medics cleared me to go home and I was finally able to get a good night’s sleep in my bed.
As for my current state, I can barely stand on my own and walk properly. My body and mind are still recovering and processing what happened and the trauma I have experienced. I am thankful for the privacy everyone has given me during this difficult time.
I am overwhelmed by all the support and care everyone has shown me and I am forever grateful for everyone involved with the search effort. I believe God led me home to my safety. The sheer willpower to keep moving forward is the reason I am still alive.
My entire family appreciates everyone for everyone’s support and love.
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