A missing family of four from Oregon has been found safe and sound in northwestern British Columbia following an exhaustive search by rescue crews.

A volunteer pilot participating in the search spotted the family walking along the shoreline of Kinaskan Lake in a remote and rugged area near the Yukon border on Wednesday afternoon.

Michelle Lesaca and Jeffrey Phan, both 24 years old, and their children, aged three and two, were in good health according to paramedics who inspected them.

A search effort was launched after the family’s black 2018 Toyota Yaris was discovered abandoned near a highway in Dease Lake, located approximately 130 kilometres from where they were found, on Monday night.

The vehicle had an Oregon licence plate and a sign explaining that the occupants had left to find gas. The RCMP was unable to find the vehicle’s owners after searching nearby gas stations. Officers eventually learned that the car had been in the Dease Lake area since June 10.

Dave Jephson, of the volunteer group Terrace Search and Rescue, told CTV Vancouver that the search operation was extensive and they were expecting a different outcome given the remote nature of the area the family disappeared in.

“The circumstances leading up to this couple, this family being missing did not look good. A vehicle found on the side of the highway, a lot of the time does not end good,” Jephson said. “Unfortunately, the North is big and lots of stuff happens in the North. There’s missing persons all the time and very rarely are they found.”

During the search effort, RCMP reached out to police in Oregon and the missing family’s relatives and learned that they were planning to travel to the Philippines at the end of May. They checked in at the airport in Portland, Ore. on May 25, but they abruptly cancelled their tickets and never boarded the plane. Instead, the family drove to Canada, crossing the border at Rooseville, near Fernie, B.C., two weeks later.

Police confirmed they’re investigating the case but did not provide further information about the circumstances regarding the family’s disappearance or how they ended up in the backcountry.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Sarah MacDonald