Mabel Tilley works in the silence after midnight, emerging from the darkness during some of the loneliest and most frightening moments of some people’s lives.
The Central Avalon Ground Search and Rescue team of 40 – which Tilley calls her “SAR family” – answers about 15 calls for service every year. Each and every one of them is a volunteer effort.
It’s a venture that’s lasted 22 years and counting for the Holyrood resident, who also sits on the town’s council. She’s currently the team co-ordinator and search manager, overseeing searches that can range from a night to a full week.
And although she downplays the significance, Tilley has left a mark on her small town and the ones that surround it. It’s something her colleague Dave Barron can attest to.
“Her life story is one for the books with success and tragedy, like an episode Land & Sea,” Barron wrote in a submission to CBC’s Make the Season Kind campaign. “I can’t begin to remember everything this woman has accomplished for herself, her community and the province.”
Barron’s note details how Tilley brought together over 30 search and rescue teams across Newfoundland and Labrador through training, and spearheaded the implementation of mental health training for first responders.
“She drives our team to do better every time,” Barron said in an interview.
It’s not about the recognition, says Tilley, who was reluctant to talk about herself on camera. She said she does this work for the satisfaction of knowing that someone is getting home safely.
Putting in the hours
A dedicated member of the search and rescue team would volunteer 700 to 1,000 hours a year, says Tilley. But that’s only the time they record.
“We support our community with helping in any way we can,” she said. “We’re helping with crowds, helping organize, helping with first aid stations … but again, the fulfilment that comes from it outweighs the hours that you spend.”
On a typical day of service, a call comes in at 2 a.m.
The team springs into action.
“We all meet back at the garage, we grab our gear and we go into our assigned location and start the process of locating that person who’s been missing,” Tilley said. “Then, we come back 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. and unload our gear and go home, get a couple hours sleep and go to work.”
Team efforts
Almost nobody sees the work of search and rescue teams.
However, Barron says, labouring in the cold — and often wet — dark is easy with a supportive group. He insists the Central Avalon group wouldn’t be the same without people like Tilley at the helm.
“She’s taken this team from a bank account of $5, and we’ve been able to do a lot of fundraising with different suggestions and ideas,” said Barron.
The equipment housed in the two-door garage on Salmonier Line is the product of fundraising, crushing cans and knocking on doors.
Nevertheless, splitting their time between full-time jobs and saving lives, Tilley says the folks at Central Avalon Ground Search and Rescue are there for one reason.
“We’re here to help others,” she said. “We’re here to make our beautiful province healthier, happier, safer.”
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