A harrowing rescue on the Cowichan River merited a warrant officer some reluctant recognition last week.

Gavin Johnstone, a former cadet with the 676 Kittyhawk Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron based on the Peninsula, was presented with the Cadet Certificate of Commendation for his actions in rescuing two people trapped in the swollen Cowichan River last May. It was to recognize him for “decisive and appropriate action to rescue two individuals trapped in the water of the Cowichan River following a rafting accident.”

Commander Rod Hughes, Commanding Officer of Regional Cadet Support Unit (Pacific) presented the former Kittyhawk cadet with a certificate signed by the director of cadets in Ottawa. A pin, a silver bar with a maple leaf in the centre, comes with the recognition.

“Warrant Officer First Class Johnstone’s quick reaction and performance under stress are most worthy and can be partly attributed to the training he received as a cadet. He is highly praised for the actions taken and for bringing credit to the Canadian Cadet Organizations and the youth of Sidney,” Hughes said.

Johnstone, a Parkland secondary graduate, said he was surprised by the recognition.

“I didn’t think my actions warranted anything,” he said. “I was doing as I was trained.”

He credits air cadets as giving him the training to assess the situation and react calmly and appropriately.

“It’s an overall aspect of the things you learn,” he said. “Being able to make sound and timely decisions, being able to stay calm and cool and collected. Just being able to react to a situation in an appropriate manner.”

Last spring, May 17, Johnstone was on an Kittyhawk weekend survival exercise. The cadets had just left on a hike, leaving behind a few senior officers and staff.

“We heard some yelling but we just though it was the cadets having fun on the hike,” he said. Then came a radio call from one of those on the hike — two people were in trouble and in need of assistance.

“I grabbed a 50 foot rope and we headed out,” he said. Five minutes later they came across the pair struggling to hold on to roots on the steep bank of the river. The thought process was quick for Johnstone, “I have a rope, there’s a tree.”

They tied the rope to the tree and dangled it over the edge. While Johstone hung over the side to help the two individuals in trouble, his fellow cadet, Flight Sergeant Chicoutimi Done, played another critical role in the rescue.

“He had my back,” Johnstone said. “He had my belt, so he secured me.”

The pair were taken back to the camp where senior cadets and staff took care of them until Search and Rescue and paramedics arrived.

“There was a third female that swam to shore alone,” Johnston recalled. All three reported another friend that had gone under, and they hadn’t seen him again. The cadets helped in a search of the shoreline, but didn’t come up with the man. A search effort was immediately launched at the time of the capsize, but was later called off without results.

Police later located and identified Daniel Adelfo Ortiz-Flores, 21, of Mexico. He was camping there with friends May 17 when the raft he was in overturned. Police said he wasn’t wearing a lifejacket, and didn’t know how to swim.

However, a passerby close to the river in the 5200 block of Heritage Road saw the body under nearly a metre of water more than a week later.

North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP, Cowichan Valley Search and Rescue’s swift water rescue team and a member of the B.C. Coroner’s office rushed to the scene and recovered the remains.

Members of Ortiz-Flores’ family positively identified him at the Cowichan District Hospital later the same day.

Lake Cowichan RCMP Cpl. Kurt Gottfried said the victim was on a “cheap dingy” without a lifejacket when his raft capsized.

“It wasn’t the type of vessel to withstand the pounding of going over the rapids,” said Gottfried.

“Some people don’t realize how dangerous the rapids can be, and how turbulent the water can be.”

North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP Const. Susan Boyes said the incident should serve as a warning for others.

“This tragedy highlights the precaution necessary when spending time on our waterways this season,” she said.

— with files from the Cowichan News Leader

reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com