It was getting dark and Zane Olson had yet to answer several texts sent to ask how much longer he would be before heading home. Finally, a phone call that went straight to voice mail prompted his wife Sherry to head out to their land.
Upon driving onto their property, Sherry knew that something was terribly wrong. The shop doors were partially open and, even though by now it was pitch-black dark, the lights were not on inside the shop. And, their dog Odin, a German shepherd and constant companion to Zane, was nowhere to be seen.
After calling the dog and searching the shop for any sign of Zane, Sherry called on some friends to help her begin searching the land.
“I thought, ‘Am I going to need to call (Southeast Saskatchewan Search and Rescue, SESKSAR)? And the very first search they do is for one of their own members?” recalled Sherry Olson.
Sherry and Zane joined a young volunteer search and rescue organization forming in the southeast corner of the province on its day one last year. When the future president of what’s now known as SESK SAR, Katia Bigney, put the word out to bring together people who were willing to donate their time and energy and get trained to ensure that if one day someone in the area goes missing, everything is done to find them, the family decided to become a part of it. Unfortunately, quite soon Sherry personally got to experience the need for SESK SAR.
“For the first time, I was put in a situation that I hope no one ever gets in. But I thought if he is lost at the hills, I’m not going to leave him there all night, I’m going to call for help. Maybe he is just hurt, and the time is of the essence.”
It turned out that it wasn’t the case this time. Zane Olson was found dead that same night. He died a sudden death due to natural reasons. The German shepherd, true to his name, was found near Zane and guarding his master.
“Fortunately, we found him. We didn’t have to call everybody, but it really brought the reality home of how important it is to have something like (SESK SAR),” said Sherry. “The reality of the training and what we are doing just hit me.”
The emotions Sherry experienced in the first moments reminded her how important and valuable SESK SAR was. And when the time came to decide on the recipient of the donations in lieu of flowers, she and their children agreed on SESK SAR.
About 20 people directed their donations to the southeast search and rescue group in memory of Zane Olson since April. But further events made Sherry take it further.
Sherry and Zane met in high school. Very different, but at the same time so alike in their priority for the family, passion for music, fun, dancing and their faith. Sherry, a person who could see herself living in New York, and Zane, who felt the best escaping in northern Saskatchewan, siding with nature, hunting and enjoying the wilds. They moved to the Energy City from Edmonton 13 years ago.
It happened during the boom years, and at first Sherry didn’t have warm feelings towards Estevan as a lot of people were just passing through what was a really busy city, not caring and not making it feel welcoming and even safe sometimes.
When a sudden death took Zane away, Sherry said it felt like the entire community stepped forward and made her feel as if she was “wrapped in a blanket of love.” And it literally was a blanket, a blanket with their pictures, which she received from Zane’s niece. And it was a patchwork quilt from a friend and endless messages and calls, flowers and pies left at the doorsteps, cards and all other means of support people could find. Without a word, her neighbours were mowing the lawn, and all these months friends and people who sometimes she hardly knew or didn’t know at all but whose lives were touched by Zane were finding all possible ways to show that they care.
“I love the people of Estevan and it wasn’t my first feeling when I arrived. But it is now,” said Sherry.
“This experience has shown me how great the original members, if you can say it that way, of Estevan are. They are just beautiful people. The ones that’ve put down their roots, they are not here just to take and leave. And that’s why I thought I had to do something.”
Sherry started thinking of the best way to say thank you to the community that supported her throughout these difficult times. And she decided to donate $10,000 to SESK SAR, helping the organization to get geared up and ready for a call if one day it comes, and in this way supporting and caring about the community that's become her home.
“That occurred to me that this would be a perfect way. I really changed my tune about Estevan.”
It was her way to thank people around and also to pay tribute to Zane as a member of SESK SAR and as a person.
“I genuinely want to thank the community for the support that I’ve received. And I feel that it’s a way of giving back,” said Sherry.
She added that whatever Zane did “he did wholeheartedly,” and SESK SAR was an important part of his life.
“He was a very community-minded person, a good person, he cared."
Throughout this hard time, Sherry heard from many people from all over the world, saying what a “solid man” Zane was. In many cases, she didn’t even know that he helped or did something for those people.
“I had business people that we were affiliated with call and say, ‘Is it true what I heard?’ And they were crying. That’s the kind of person he was, he affected everybody that he associated with whether it was on a personal or professional level. He just genuinely cared about people and he was just a good soul … Anyone who knew him would say the same. He was just as real as they come.”
Zane will always be remembered by the SESK SAR, the Estevan community and many people he affected. The donations made by the community and by Sherry and Zane’s family will help the search and rescue organization to purchase the equipment necessary to be ready to respond to a call, if someone ever goes missing anywhere from the Manitoba border to the Weyburn area and from the U.S. border all the way to the Carlyle area.
Sherry added that with the person Zane was, he would never want this donation to be about him.
“He wouldn’t want it to be about him, he wouldn’t. That’s also who he was. He would want it to be for the reason SESK SAR came to be … He would want it to be a tribute to the selfless hours, others are putting into it and this is the way we can help them do their job.”
Bigney said the money is intended to go towards purchasing the much-needed incident command centre equipment.
“Southeast Saskatchewan Search and Rescue chapter would like to extend a very sincere and heartfelt thank you. We are very grateful to the Olson family for their extremely generous donation,” said Bigney.
“We greatly miss Zane and all he contributed to the chapter, his volunteer work and contributions during the committee meetings.”
Bigney added that SESK SAR will be placing a plaque on the incident command trailer, thanking the Olson family for their contribution to the organization. Thank you cards will also be sent out to the community members who made donations in Zane’s memory.
SESK SAR now has 19 trained members and is raising money and putting all needed equipment for search and rescue operations together to be ready to serve the communities in the southeast when the need comes.
