Searchers keep positive attitude during work

STELLARTON - Searchers involved with the hunt for missing Cape Breton boy James Delorey kept their spirits up during their quest to find the lost seven-year-old.
Despite the brutal wintery conditions that hampered searching, a positive vibe reigned.
"There was never any negativity," Halifax Regional Search and Rescue photographer Ed LeBlanc, a resident of Stellarton, said. "We were all hopeful, hopeful, hopeful."
"It was high intensity, we're all parents," Ed's wife Jennifer - who was a logistics officer for the Halifax team - added.
"Everybody wanted a happy ending."
When searchers found James laying under a dusting of snow, the news came like a bright light.
"We rejoiced," Ed said.
He did say it was "suspenseful" while waiting for EHS crews to stabilize the little boy before he could be airlifted to hospital.
As fate would have it, James Delorey died the following day at the IWK Hospital in Halifax. That news was a blow to the LeBlancs.
"We wanted a happy story. We were totally let down," Ed said.
"It was a tragedy he died," Jennifer added.
But she said they were determined to find the boy.
"If not we would still be there searching."
Tony Rodgers, Halifax Regional Search and Rescue spokesman, said weather was an enemy for the searchers adding that the team from Halifax took seven hours to drive to the site in treacherous conditions.
He said the fact that searchers found the young boy alive was "quite amazing in itself, given the terrible weather."
He added that the search was a textbook example of inter-agency co-operation.
"It's good to know we have all these services we can all upon."
Not only did organized agencies take part in the search, droves of volunteers wanted to lend a hand.
Rodgers encouraged those volunteers who are interested to join their local search and rescue organization.
"Their hearts are bigger than you can imagine…God love them, they show up but they don't have experience and training in searching for lost persons."
Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter recognize the hundreds of people who volunteered to search for the missing boy.
"Whether it was local police officials, ground search and rescue teams, the local autism society, or community volunteers, once again Nova Scotians showed their true spirit by pulling together to help out during this difficult time."