Capital Daily for Friday, August 7

A 25-year-old hiker from Courtenay who had been missing in Strathcona Park since Monday was found alive Thursday morning, spotted on a cliffside by police in an RCMP helicopter.

Keshav Jindal became separated from his hiking partner during a day trip near Paradise Meadows and Mount Albert Edward. The two had planned to summit the mountain together, but Jindal decided to stay behind and wait. When his partner came back down, he was gone. Search manager Paul Berry said Jindal had hiked only a handful of times and wasn't familiar with alpine terrain.

Crews hoisted him from the cliff to a waiting helicopter around 11:30 a.m., a rescue Berry called "very technical" given the terrain. Seven search and rescue teams from Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland took part, along with two helicopters and a canine unit. Infrared cameras and a device that detects cellphone signals were used, but no signals came through.

Closer to home, West Shore RCMP is still looking for 28-year-old Tyler Tenhunen, last seen Aug. 4 on Hockley Avenue in Langford. Police say it is out of character for him to be out of contact this long, and anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The last trial dropped Oak Bay's adult-deer population by nearly half in four years, and cut fawns by about 60% after a single season of shots. Now the district wants back onto private property to do it again.

Starting in early September and running to the end of October, veterinarians from HERD Wildlife Management will search public and private land for female deer to vaccinate, typically between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. The catch, the district says, is that deer wander through residential yards, so backyard access means more does reached. Owners willing to open the gate can fill out a consent form at oakbay.ca/deer.

The pitch lands during a rough summer for deer elsewhere on the South Island. Sooke wildlife volunteer Kelly Chartier knows of at least 30 fawns left motherless this spring after does were struck by drivers, and she's now selling $10 "Orphaned fawns crossing" lawn signs that sold out the moment they were posted. "Fawns are dang cute, and I think everybody's seen Bambi," she said.

The stewardship society estimates roughly 100 deer live in Oak Bay at any given time. That's a long way from 2015, when the district trapped and killed 11 deer with a bolt gun.