N.W.T. searchers turn to infrared technology to find mushroom picker missing for 3 days

Since this story was firstpublished, the woman was found safe. For details,follow this link.

A search for a mushroom picker near the N.W.T.'s Reid Lake is now in its third day, as police, military personnel, and search and rescue continue to scour the area for any sign of a missing woman from the Czech Republic.

• 'We're all really worried': Search for missing mushroom picker underway near Yellowknife

The woman, who police have declined to name at the request of the family, was reported missing on Tuesday morning after being last seen on Monday at about 4 p.m.

Her fellow mushroom pickers, who are now assisting in the search, saidthat she is an inexperienced picker and it was just her third day looking for morel mushrooms in the bush.

On Thursday, police saidthe search was assisted by a Transport Canada Dash 8equipped with infrared technology. Police are also being assisted by volunteers from Yellowknife Search and Rescue and the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, as well as the Canadian Forces' 440 Transport Squadron.

RCMPhave also said there is a chartered helicopter taking partin the search, as well as a drone and a dog unit.

Police are asking people not involved in the search to stay out of the area.

A mushroom-pickingvacation

According to her fellow mushroom pickers, the woman is in her early 30s and was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants when she was last seen.

Morel mushroom picking has become increasingly popular in the Northwest Territories over the past few years, as pickers head into the bush to retrieve the valuable mushrooms from burned-out areas.

A relatively small harvest was expected in 2017, as commercial harvesters turned to more accessible parts of Canada with larger burned areas. The group of pickers the woman was camping with told CBC News that they met in the territory, travelling to pick mushrooms as part of their vacation.

This is not the first time a mushroom picker has been reported missing in recent years. Last year, a B.C. picker emerged from the bush after being lost for five days, while aN.W.T. woman was forced to wander through the bush for 12 hours after being cut off from a roadway by a wolf.

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In a news releaseThursday, RCMP issued a reminder to take necessary precautions when travelling into remote areas, including carrying a communication device such as a satellite phone and aGPS, and to work in pairs and closely to one another.