New book details father's remarkable search for his son, and the forces of nature that helped along the way

Greg Naterer was out in his yard doing chores on Thanksgiving Monday in 2020, when his wife, Josie, got a call "no parent would ever want to receive."

The call was from the Vancouver police. The Naterers' son, Jordan, had been reported missing.

"It was a moment that changed our lives forever," Naterer said.

The family was already feeling unsettled that weekend. Jordan, 25, had not returned a call from his mother.

That was unusual for Jordan, who was studying in British Columbia, far from his family home in St. John's, N.L. He had gone hiking alone in Manning Provincial Park, about 175 kilometres east of Vancouver, and had not returned as expected.

What followed was a 10-month search by Naterer's family, friends and hundreds of volunteers that ended when they found Jordan's body.

Now, three-and-half years later, Naterer is living on P.E.I. and working as the vice-president academic and research at the University of Prince Edward Island.

A photo in the top left of Called by Mother Earth shows Greg Naterer congratulating his son Jordan during a convocation at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's. (Breakwater Books)

With encouragement from his family, he recently wrote a heart-wrenching memoir, Called by Mother Earth, about the search for Jordan and the transformative effect it had on him and his family.

If there's one thing readers can take away from the story, he said in an interview with Mainstreet P.E.I. host Matt Rainnie, it's this:

"A parent should never give up on their child, no matter how hopeless a situation may appear," Naterer said. "And what I would say is when facing situations of adversity like this, in crisis in one's life, one foot ahead of the other is the philosophy that I took."

Indeed, the search for Jordan did seem hopeless at first. They had 80,000 hectares to cover, navigating not just their personal grief but wild, unfamiliar terrain — which, in some areas, was covered by up to three metres of snow.

Police had to eventually give up the search, but the Naterers, family members, friends and hundreds of "kind-hearted volunteers" persevered.

Along the way, Naterer befriended a local Indigenous bandleader, Mike Allison, who taught him about the sacred life and the forces that comprise the spirit of the natural world. Naterer said he came to believe in that spirit. He said it not only helped guide him to Jordan's final resting place, but helped him comprehend the tragedy.

The book's title is derived from an Indigenous belief about the sacred life and the forces that comprise the spirit of the natural world. (Breakwater Books)

"The one thing that will stay with us forever is on the night after we found Jordan, [Allison] came to our cabin and he explained that in Indigenous teachings, it was Jordan that was called by Mother Earth [and] returned back," Naterer said.

"It's an honour in the Indigenous traditions of the Indian band group there. So I think that was really not only Mike's words, but the connection that I had with nature during the entire search."

Jordan is survived by his parents and two sisters, Julia and Veronica.

Proceeds from sales of the book, published by Breakwater Books, will go to the Jordan Naterer Memorial Scholarship at Memorial University of Newfoundland.