Family of missing Airdrie man doubles reward in hopes someone will come forward
It's been 12 days since Cameron Collin disappeared from a rural property in Montana, and the Airdrie man's family has now doubled their reward offer, hoping the money will help coax someone with information come forward.
The 37-year-old flew in to Billings, Mont., on Oct. 4 to celebrate his college roommate's wedding. His friends picked him up at the airport and a bachelor party for the groom kicked into high gear.
Julia Collin, Cameron Collin's sister, said the boys spent the day drinking and shooting clay pigeons at a rural property on Pryor Road, southeast of Billings. When nighttime rolled around, the group decided to head to town to go to the bar, but Cameron Collin got left behind.
"He was last seen in the shed of this bachelor party," Julia Collin told the Calgary Eyeopener on Tuesday. "They said he was quite drunk so they didn't really want to bring him into town, so they left him in a chair and that was the last time anybody saw him."
Julia Collin said the group left for the bar in Billings around 10:30 p.m., but didn't stay long. They were back around midnight and assumed their friend had gone to bed they set up for him on a trailer.
His disappearance wasn't reported to authorities until Oct. 7 when he failed to show up for the wedding.
"I've been hearing so many different guesses and theories as to what could have happened, but in the end we don't really know what happened," Julia Collin said.
Cellphone activity stops
Julia Collin and her father spent the week in Montana helping in the search. They plastered nearby towns with posters offering a $5,000 reward for information leading them to Cameron Collin, found locals to scour nearby hills with drones and watched as the Yellowstone County Sheriffs' office probed and raked a creek that runs alongside the property.
"I personally crawled through valleys, under trees and bush calling out my brothers's name just hoping for him to answer back," she said.
"We have no information to go off of, so we're just trying to look everywhere."
The facts the family has are that Cameron Collin's phone activity stopped at 10:22 p.m., shortly before the group said they left for the bar. Google Tracking mapping information showed the phone travelled halfway into town before the tracking ended, possibly because the phone died.
"It's just very odd that it just kind of ended at a certain point and we just haven't had any activity on it since," she said.
There has been no activity on his phone or credit cards and his belongings, including his jacket, were left behind at the property.
Cameron Collin had reserved a hotel room in Billings for the wedding and did call the hotel that day inquiring about a late check-in and asking them to hold his room.
"There are many theories as to what happened to him that night — did he start walking to town, got picked up? Did he fall in the creek? We are wanting a confirmed sighting of his whereabouts that night and every day since," Julia Collin said.
As of Tuesday, the family upped that reward to $10,000, hoping someone who knows something will come forward.
"Cameron has friends and family in Canada and the U.S. who are all very concerned," she said. "All I want is to give him a big hug and bring him home."
Police don't suspect foul play
The family has started a GoFundMe to help with the expenses as they search for Cameron Collin.
Yellowstone Country Sheriff's department said they do not suspect foul play in Cameron Collin's disappearance. They believe he may have walked away from the property in an attempt to walk to Billings.
Sheriff Mike Linder told CBC News on Monday they have received a few tips and officers are planning another search of the area this week since the forecast is favourable.
Cam Collin is six feet five inches tall, with an average build. He was last seen wearing a long-sleeve black shirt with the word "Affliction" on it, jeans and cowboy boots.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office.
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener
