Exhaustion is setting in as more and more resources arrived on Friday in southwestern Alberta, where the search for a missing six-year-old Lethbridge boy is into its sixth day.
However, during the daily media update, Adam Kennedy of Alberta Search and Rescue said that searchers are not giving up hope that Darius Macdougall will be found alive.
“It’s not slowing down at any point over the weekend,” said Kennedy. “It’s actually quite the opposite. It’s being ramped up over the weekend.
“We anticipate seeing more SAR (search and rescue) volunteers available and expect to see those numbers bolstered over the weekend.”
There are currently about 120 people involved in the ground search for Macdougall, who went missing Sunday while on a camping trip with his family at Island Lake Campground, just south of Crowsnest Pass, Alta., about 250 km south of Calgary.
The search for 6-year-old Darius Macdougall is complicated because he has autism, so search crews are concerned he may not respond when he sees searchers or hears them call his name.
missingchild.ca
He was discovered missing after he failed to return from a walk with five other young family members.
The RCMP was notified about an hour later and a search was launched.
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Search crews from Alberta and British Columbia are now getting some help from Saskatchewan search and rescue members, as well as 60 RCMP tactical support officers who will work alongside them and provide some relief for those searchers already working in the area.
The search has been taking place both and night.
On Friday, ground searchers were also getting help from five aerial drones and an RCMP helicopter equipped with infrared and night vision technology.
Aerial photos, provided by the RCMP, show the search area is covered by a combination of thick forests, steep mountains and numerous lakes, rivers and other waterways.
Courtesy: RCMP
“The current average search radius is approximately five km, with some searches extending out to approximately 10 km,” said Kennedy.
“A total surface area of approximately seven square kilometers has been thoroughly searched multiple times.”
So far, only trained search and rescue crews have been allowed to join the search because of concerns people who may not have the proper training could contaminate the area, miss any clues or evidence that would be picked up by the experienced searchers, or get into trouble themselves and need to be rescued, taking valuable resources away from the search for the little boy.
However, RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney said searchers are working with the municipality of Crowsnest Pass to set up a community support centre in the nearby community of Blairmore, where the public can go to ask questions and “to give a safe place where concerned community members can come to support one another.”
“These centres foster a sense of belonging and connection especially with these incidents which are extremely hard for everyone involved,” said Slaney.
“We’re also making sure the family has everything they need,” added Slaney. “A huge part of the family is here on site. They’re camping here and we’re making sure they have food, water, fuel for their campsite and also providing them with an area to shower, get warm and wash their clothes.”
The 120 search and rescue members currently in the area, just south of Crowsnest Pass, Alta., are now being joined by searchers from Saskatchewan as well 60 RCMP tactical support officers.
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So far, there’s been no sign of the missing boy.
Questioned about how he could survive for six days with no access to food and not being properly dressed for the cold overnight temperatures, Kennedy said the optimism is based on consultation with experts in wilderness survival.
“There’s a whole lot of science that goes into the background of the search. They continue to use statistical analysis to determine where Darius may have travelled to and continue to focus the search area based on that statistical analysis,” Kennedy said.
“The consultation that was done with the leading physicians in the province regarding survivability and the temperatures and terrain we are seeing on the ground.
“‘The mood on ground?’ Everybody is still very optimistic. They are still out searching and aren’t giving up.”
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