Star of Courage

• Awarded on: December 11, 2003
• Invested on: June 25, 2004

Marie Leia Hunt-Hans, S.C.
Star of Courage

On March 3, 2003, 11-year-old Leia Hunt-Hans set out alone in the wilderness to try to find help for her injured father after their snowmobile had plunged down a deep ravine and crashed through an ice-covered stream in Wentworth-Nord, Quebec. Cold and terrified by the howling wind and wolves, Leia courageously set out in total darkness on a nearby lake in a vain attempt to find assistance. She found her way back to her father after walking some three kilometres, and the two huddled together, wet, in minus 27 C temperature, until sunrise. With her boots now caked in ice, Leia set out again down a snowmobile path and walked six kilometres before being found by snowmobilers who informed her that her father had been rescued. Although Leia survived the ordeal, her right foot and left toes had to be amputated.