Volunteers who have spent the last two weeks searching for a missing senior in the forest near 麻豆精选 are asking the public to check the footage from their game cameras.
Alan Francescutti, a 79-year-old man from 麻豆精选 was last seen leaving his home in the Lower Mission in his truck on April 16.
The 麻豆精选 RCMP issued a press release on April 22, asking the public for more information on Francescutti鈥檚 whereabouts as his disappearance was concerning. The RCMP said that Francescutti is considered a 鈥渉igh-risk鈥� man.
The day after the press release was issued, Francescutti鈥檚 truck was found in the backcountry between 麻豆精选 and Lake Country just off Postill Road, near the Beaver Lake and Dee Lake Road, by the Okanagan Forest Task Force and an off-roading group.
The Central Okanagan Search and Rescue (COSAR) team from 麻豆精选 has been working alongside the RCMP in the search for Francescutti.
A spokesperson for COSAR said that volunteers from the 麻豆精选 team have likely logged more than 1,000 hours in the search for Francescutti.
COSAR鈥檚 diverse team of skilled volunteers has encountered rain, sleet, and snow while searching the difficult-to-navigate terrain near Dee Lake.
Over the weekend crews, more than 50 volunteers from search and rescue teams from across the province came to 麻豆精选 to aid in the search.
Scent detection and tracking dogs, ground crews and utility terrain vehicle teams from Grand Forks, Kamloops, Kaslo and the Fraser Valley helped 麻豆精选鈥檚 COSAR team search for Francescutti. The area was closed to the public during the search to not add more scents than necessary to hinder the dogs鈥� progress.
The Dee Lake area has now been reopened to the public and COSAR is asking people to check footage from their game cameras for clues regarding Francescutti鈥檚 whereabouts.
While volunteers from COSAR were out in the backcountry on Monday, April 29, the team will take the rest of the week off of fieldwork to prepare for what is expected to be another big weekend of searching on May 4 and 5. Mutual aid teams from across the province are expected to come and help the 麻豆精选 crews.
Anyone with information is urged to contact 麻豆精选 RCMP at 250-762-3300 and reference file number 2024-19989.
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