Water search for missing Sackville man continues in B.C.
A water search continues in British Columbia on Tuesday for a young New Brunswick man who has been missing for more than a week, say Sunshine Coast RCMP.
If crews can't locate Thomas Hines, 26, of Sackville by the end of the day, they will "determine next steps," Const. Karen Whitby said.
Hines, who recently moved to Egmont, was last seen June 17, canoeing alone on Waugh Lake, about 125 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.
Cheyenne Ramsey, who loaned him the canoe, is sick with worry.
She said she reported him missing the next morning after she spotted the 17-foot orange canoe partially-submerged.
At first, she thought maybe Hines just hadn't tied it up securely because it was "quite windy" on June 17, she said.
But once she saw his backpack inside, along with his wallet and all of his identification, she was "alarmed."
Ramsey, who co-owns Strongwater Camping and Cabins, where Hines was living, rushed back to his trailer to see if he was still sleeping but found his bed empty.
She immediately called the West Coast Wilderness Lodge, where he worked as a kitchen assistant, and was told he wasn't there.
"Of course you hold out hoping that maybe he went on shore and he's like, you know, wandering around in the bush," said Ramsey. "I think he was a bit of an intrepid wanderer."
Whitby said Hines was known to enjoy swimming in Waugh Lake, and search crews suspect he may have drowned.
The RCMP's underwater recovery team is using sonar equipment again Tuesday to scour the lake.
Members of the Sunshine Coast Search and Rescue and Squamish Search and Rescue are assisting in the extensive search that began June 18 by water, land and air.
They recovered a shirt floating in the water that they believe belonged to Hines, as well as a pair of flip-flops.
Ramsey said she believes Hines is a "super strong swimmer" with some scuba diving experience.
She doesn't know him well, she said. He's only been living at the campground for about 10 days and he worked nights, so she didn't see him often.
But she described him as a "lovely young man" who studied philosophy at Dalhousie University and plays the guitar.
"He was just settling in and really liking it," she said.
On June 17, he had cleaned up his trailer, invited a female friend over and borrowed the canoe.
"He was quite enthusiastic to have this friend come over and with him and they were going to go out and have an evening on the lake," she said.
Ramsey said she believes the pair set out in the canoe around 5:30 p.m. and his friend swam back alone around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.
The lake is not very big, but it is fairly deep, she said.
It's a popular spot in the small community of about 300 permanent residents.
"All the Egmont kids learn to swim in that lake," she said.
Peter Hansen, who owns the West Coast Wilderness Lodge, confirmed Hines had been working there for a few weeks but left the lodge a couple of days before he went missing.
"Things just didn't work out," said Hansen. He declined to elaborate, but said it was Hines's decision.
"I had very little conversation with him, but he seemed like a nice guy and quiet," Hansen said of the Tantramar Regional High School graduate. "We all hope the results turn out well. That's all we can hope for."
