Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue came to the aid of a family with a broken down boat on Alouette Lake on Friday night.
Rescue team manager Rick Laing said the family – a couple with a four-year-old – had taken the boat for shorter runs twice, and then found themselves a nice wilderness campsite on the eastern shore of the lake.
"Then they took their boat out, and it conked out on them partway up the lake," he said.
The engine problems could not have been predicted, said Laing.
"They had done their due diligence, and it just went wrong."
They had a paddle, but even it broke. They eventually got to shore and were trying to hail other boaters, but none would stop, waving arms and blowing a whistle.
Laing said if people in a boat are signaling to boaters, they should always stop to render assistance.
"When it comes to someone on the shore that's a different matter, but it would be common courtesy," he said.
Eventually, at about 10 p.m. the couple was able to get a cell phone signal and contact police, who dispatched Search and Rescue.
The rescue team brought the couple back to their car at the boat launch, then even went to collect their camping gear, which took until about 2 a.m.
"We went a bit above and beyond," said Laing.