2°c Sunny
Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Man missing for three weeks can't explain why he's not dead
Survived on snow and groundwater
Brad Lambert is photographed in his home Monday. (JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
Related Items
Brad Lambert can’t explain why he’s not dead.
Lost in the southeastern Manitoba bush for three weeks with no heat, no fire and no food, the 46-year-old Winnipeg man survived on melted snow and groundwater sucked through a hollowed-out ballpoint pen.
"There’s been some skepticism of my account," Lambert said from his Southdale home Monday night, where he’s been reunited with his wife and soon-to-be-seven-year-old son. "I would have been (skeptical) myself.
"I had the will and the reason to keep fighting. I think that once people see the location of my vehicle, the skeptics will be appeased."
Where his truck is, is still a mystery, though Lambert said he thinks he’s given the RCMP enough clues that they can find it today.
Lambert set out Nov. 15 for a day of hunting, and was missing 23 days until Saturday when he turned up at the Marchand store.
During that time, he lost 40 pounds.
Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said police are still looking into the matter.
"Our part in this is not complete, and we’re just holding off providing any specific comments regarding the entire ordeal until we have a firm grasp on everything that has taken place," said Michalyshen. He said police are "very pleased" Lambert was reunited with his family, but officers "still have a job to do and an investigation to complete."
Brad Lambert’s father, Norman, said his son used a cigarette lighter to light fires and melt snow for water to drink.
His son had a cellphone but the battery died. The deer and elk hunter wasn’t able to catch any food, he said.
"He stayed by his truck thinking that eventually he’d be found," said Norman Lambert, who said his son eventually came to the conclusion he needed to find his way out by foot and followed trails to a nearby road.
There, he said, his son flagged down a driver and was dropped off in Marchand.
After Lambert went missing, police sent pictures of him and his black Ford F-150 truck to media to ask for information about where he was. The Winnipeg Police Service Missing Persons Unit and RCMP Search and Rescue Team — along with the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) — had searched for Lambert by air and on the ground.
They also asked Manitobans and Ontarians to check their garages and storage sheds for Lambert.
Dwayne Logan, a Nesbitt-based instructor who teaches wilderness survival courses and disaster preparedness, said if someone is lost in the wild their No. 1 priority is finding safe shelter.
He said it was good that Lambert had a vehicle.
"You can only survive maybe as short as three hours without shelter if it’s windy and you’re wet and so on," said Logan.
"If it’s windy and your pants are wet from walking through the snow, you’ll die of exposure in as little as three hours."
gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca
History
Updated on Monday, December 10, 2012 at 9:13 PM CST: Updates photo to one taken today
More Local
- Back to Top
- Return to Local
More Local
(1 of 19 articles for today)
Flood money paid for CEO's romantic trip
1:00 AM 0The leader of a Manitoba emergency services agency under a federal probe booked a Vancouver trip for himself and a ...
Poll
Most Popular Local
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- 2 dead in crash near Portage la Prairie
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Core grocer a challenge: expert
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- Links plan loses on scorecard
- Thompson RCMP looking for violent suspect
- Two in custody after death on Pauingassi First Nation
- A new mom's booze-fuelled hell
- Split golf course plan passes EPC committee
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Sex charges for ex-club boss
- Police identify slaying victims
- Apple trick on Ellen falls short for city woman
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- 'Responsible Winnipeg' ads appear on sign run by mayor-owned Goldeyes' baseball park
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- A child-custody catastrophe
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Co-worker 'sick' today? Maybe it's the $17M flu
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- '2 minutes after I read the winning numbers, I retired': Winnipeg lotto winner
- Parents, community relieved and elated as missing boy found safe
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Man missing since 2009 found safe
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Core grocer a challenge: expert
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Manitoba appointees violate feds' rules
- Francophone paper turns 100, digitizes all editions
- 'It's a beautiful story': There's not always a tomorrow to say you're sorry or make things right
- The end of the credit card?
- She's helping the STARS that saved her
- Heritage Winnipeg hosting 10th annual Doors Open Winnipeg this weekend
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Fishing for fashion
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Core grocer a challenge: expert
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- Sex charges for ex-club boss
- Newly minted MD a beacon for kids in youth program
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Mental-health patients get own ER
- A child-custody catastrophe
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Steen invests $1M in family entertainment centre
- Earls on Main going, but new one coming
- Province introduces changes to rules governing landlords, renters
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Boost same-sex curricula: union
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.