North Shore Rescue will head into the backcountry one last time Sunday in hopes of finding Carl Couture, the 24-year-old Quebec man last seen Oct. 31.
Rescue crews from around the Lower Mainland have put in more than 1,300 volunteer hours scouring the Hanes Valley north of Grouse Mountain since Friday afternoon, looking in every possible spot someone might seek shelter from the heavy rain, snow and cold.
“We haven’t turned up anything, which is troubling to say the least,” said Mike Danks, North Shore Rescue team leader. “This is now turning into, obviously, a recovery. It probably has been for the last couple days but we’ve always kind of held out hope.”
The team is hoping warmer weather and rain in the forecast will melt away some of the snow at higher elevations that would have made finding Couture impossible. It wouldn’t be a logical place for Couture to go to, Danks said, but people panicking over their survival don’t always make rational decisions.
Couture was last spotted by surveillance cameras from the Grouse Mountain chalet headed towards Hanes Valley in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park just after 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 31. But no one reported him missing until three days later.
“The really unfortunate thing is he walked right past the sign that was put up the day before, closing the backcountry of Lynn Headwaters,” Danks said.
So far, Couture is the only person to have gone missing in the backcountry in 2017 and not been found by search and rescue volunteers. But the case bears a strong resemblance to several other missing persons cases in the backcountry that ended in tragedy, Danks said. Couture was unfamiliar with the terrain and ill-equipped to be outside in the elements. Most critically, he didn’t tell anyone what his plans were, so no one knew to call for help until days after he was last seen.
“We get these visitors to Vancouver that attempt these hikes that are closed areas – areas that are closed for a reason, being very naïve as to how remote they are and how treacherous they can be.
“And more often than not, we’re a couple days behind in finding out that these people went missing,” he said.
In late 2014, hiker Liang Jin disappeared in Hanes Valley. His body was found there several weeks later.
North Shore Rescue launched a massive effort for snowshoers Roy Tin Hou Lee and Chun Sek Lam in late 2016 after their vehicle was found abandoned at Cypress Mountain. They have not yet been found.
Couture’s parents travelled to B.C. from Quebec and have been kept abreast of the search effort but they have since returned home.
“The family is aware of the gravity of the situation,” Danks said. “Our real goal here is to try to provide closure and hopefully bring Carl back home to his family.”
Anyone with information about Couture’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Vancouver Police Department.
