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Helicopter lifts out tourist after Sombrio cliff plunge

Times Colonist11 May 2018p. A4JDF SAR era

“Helicopter lifts out tourist after Sombrio cliff plunge”, Times Colonist, p. A4, 11 May 2018 ref-only

Summary

A woman hiking the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail with friends had to be plucked by helicopter from an area near Sombrio Beach on the Wednesday after falling down a cliff. The 25-year-old woman, a tourist from Quebec, suffered numerous serious but non-life-threatening injuries, including broken bones, during the fall, which happened at about 4 p.m. There is no cellphone coverage in the area, so two of her friends hiked [out], said Vickie Weber of Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue; they got to their vehicle and drove into Port Renfrew to call 911.

Written from the article text only. Where the scan is hard to read, the summary was taken from the page image rather than the OCR.

Details

Headline	“Helicopter lifts out tourist after Sombrio cliff plunge”
Publication	Times Colonist
Date	11 May 2018
Page	A4
Era	JDF SAR era
Document type	news report
Original article	ProQuest — the scanned page in the Times Colonist digital archive ↗
Source	ProQuest Digital Times Colonist via GVPL (bulk export 2026-07-16)
Accessed	2026-07-16
Licensing	ref-only
Record confidence	confirmed

Archivist's note

One of the clearest illustrations in the archive of the communications problem at the western end of the response area: an injured hiker, no cellphone coverage, and a delay measured by how long it takes companions to hike out and drive to Port Renfrew. The same theme runs through the 2015 Sombrio grotto search and the 2022 article on cellular reliance, both also held here. This page was recovered from inside the ProQuest bulk export already held in the archive, where it had been listed as referenced but not held.

The clipping

The full page. The article region could not be verified automatically, so the whole page is shown rather than risk a clipping that cuts off the article. the whole page is shown; the article region within it has not been isolated.

Read the original online

ProQuest — the scanned page in the Times Colonist digital archive ↗ subscription or library card
Recorded exactly as captured, including the Greater Victoria Public Library proxy address — it needs a GVPL card or a ProQuest subscription. Without one, search ProQuest for the document ID in the address.
This link opens through the Greater Victoria Public Library and asks for a library card number before showing the page. Cards are free for Greater Victoria residents — sign up on the GVPL site; an online temporary card is enough for the digital databases. Outside Greater Victoria, ask your own library whether it offers the ProQuest Times Colonist archive.
http://search.proquest.com.proxy.gvpl.ca/pdntimescolonist/newspapers/may-11-2018page-a4/docview/2082260565/sem-2?accountid=6051

These links leave this archive and point at the publisher. They may change or disappear — the scan held here is the archival copy.

Files

Full page scan (PDF)

Archive notes

This is a full newspaper page and carries unrelated stories as well as the article summarised here. The text is the OCR made from the ProQuest bulk export during the 2026 research phase, not a fresh pass. Recovered from page 86 of the bulk export.

Record id 2018-05-11-times-colonist-pa4-weber-profile. Original file in the project archive: 02_articles/2026-07-16_proquest_bulk_export_50_articles_2012-2026.pdf (page 86).

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In the timeline

11 May 2018A woman hiking the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail with friends had to be plucked by helicopter from an area near So