‘Cries’ from forest weren’t what they seemed. Camper was singing his ‘heart out’
A solo camper was living his “best life,” singing at the top of his lungs in the middle of the wilderness in British Columbia, Canada.
He thought no one could hear, but it turns out he was very wrong.
Two hikers were near the Boulderfields, a popular climbing area, Thursday, July 31, when they believed they heard someone yelling for help, Central Okanagan Search & Rescue said in an Aug. 1 Facebook post.
The worried hikers called 911, and authorities contacted search and rescue, Ed Henczel, the team’s search manager, told McClatchy news by phone Aug. 4.
Henczel said the team just so happened to be wrapping up training when they got the call at about 9 p.m., so 20 volunteers and two police officers went to find the person in need.
He said there have been many serious injuries in this area in the past.
“Early responders even heard faint yelling—but couldn’t make out what was being said. Was it ‘help’? Or worse, Nickelback?” the team joked in the Facebook post.
Rescuers followed the noise and didn’t find anyone in trouble.
Instead, they found a man “singing his heart out to the trees, blissfully unaware that the acoustics of the Boulderfields had turned his tent-side concert into an accidental distress signal,” the post said.
The camper offered the team members some beers for their trouble, but they declined, Henczel said.
“The guy was solo camping by himself having his best life,” he said.
The Boulderfields is in a forested area, about a 10-mile drive southeast from Kelowna.
“This is definitely going to go down in Central Okanagan Search and Rescue history,” he said.
Henczel also said he wants the public to know rescues are always free.
“We’d rather be called for something like this than have people just ignore it,” he said.
Hundreds of people commented on the search and rescue’s Facebook post to share their thoughts about the mistaken camper.
“When a person sings in the forest, will anyone hear? Turns out, yes. Yes, they will,” one person commented.
“Note to self, don’t sing along to the Beatles in the bush,” another person said.
This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 5:42 PM with the headline "‘Cries’ from forest weren’t what they seemed. Camper was singing his ‘heart out’."
