WILLEMSTAD – A 70-year-old Canadian tourist who went missing during a hike in the Banda Bou area was found safe Sunday morning following an extensive overnight search operation involving the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard and the Korps Politie Curaçao.
According to the Maritime Operations Center of the Coast Guard, authorities received a report on Saturday, May 16, through the Curaçao Police Force regarding the missing tourist, who had gone hiking in the area around Seru Bientu and failed to return.
Her husband, who is also a Canadian tourist, alerted police during the late afternoon hours. Authorities remained in constant communication with him throughout the search operation.
The Coast Guard immediately deployed a helicopter to begin aerial searches in the area. Later, the Coast Guard’s Dash aircraft was also mobilized to continue the search from the air.
Emergency services continued searching intensively into the late evening hours.
Before sunrise on Sunday, the search operation resumed with the deployment of the Coast Guard helicopter once again. During the morning hours, the missing woman was located in the area around Lagun.
She was transported by helicopter to Curaçao International Airport at Hato, where ambulance personnel examined her and confirmed that she was in good condition.
Following the medical assessment, the woman and her husband were transported back to their accommodation by police officers.
Authorities stated that the successful outcome demonstrated the importance of strong cooperation and communication between emergency services during rescue operations.