Although the search for a North Ridgeville man missing in British Columbia, Canada, was called off nearly a week ago, authorities said Thursday that they are not viewing the matter as hopeless.
Cpl. Dan Moskaluk of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police North District in Prince George, British Columbia, said he had been personally involved with the case of a woman who was missing for 49 days before being found in Nevada, and there is always hope of finding others, including Warren Andrew Sill.
“As each day goes by, it gets tougher and tougher for family members and friends of the missing person, but you never know,” Moskaluk said. “It’s always possible that someone could see this guy or see signs of him.
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“Sometimes we do get a bit of luck and come across somebody,” Moskaluk said. “We never give up hope.”
Renewed search efforts will be considered if any new information or signs of Sill are spotted.
“If another suitable area could be determined, we would start up again,” Moskaluk said.
Mounted police units from the New Hazelton Detachment and search-and-rescue teams in a remote part of Canada’s westernmost province began a search for Andrew Sill, 26, after his SUV and all of his camping equipment were reported abandoned July 10 at the entrance of a major trail into a wilderness area.
The massive search continued for approximately 10 days before being called off July 20 after searchers found no trace of Sill in the rugged, heavily forested region.
Sill was last heard from July 4, when he called his family to let them know he planned to explore the region for several days in hopes of locating a rare bear for a documentary he was filming.
Despite the intensive efforts of searchers, no one found any signs “whatsoever to indicate animal tracks, blood or clothing,” Moskaluk said.
It has been feared that Sill fell into one of a couple of steep-walled, fast-moving creeks in the area or was attacked by an animal.
Even though the search has been suspended, authorities continue to encourage hikers and tourists visiting the region’s recreational areas to be on the lookout for any signs of the man.
Moskaluk cited the case of Rita Chretien, a 56-year-old woman from Penticton, British Columbia, who went missing in March 2011 while traveling with her husband to a trade show in Las Vegas.
Chretien, who survived by eating snow, according to news accounts, was found May 7, 2011 by hunters near the couple’s van on a remote logging road in northeastern Nevada. Her husband, 59, who went for help after the van got stuck in mud, is not believed to have survived.
The search for Sill was called off a day after his father, Herbert Sill, received emergency guardianship over his son’s affairs from Lorain County Probate Court.
The legal action allowed Sill’s parents to have access to his banking and cell phone records in hopes of gleaning any information that could help authorities better determine his whereabouts.
Sill’s family was not reached for comment.
Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.
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