There are 120 people from across Alberta and British Columbia on the ground searching for a missing six-year-old Lethbridge boy.
During Thursday’s update, Training Manager for Search and Rescue Adam Kennedy explained the search area for Darius Macdougall is being pushed out to roughly eight kilometres.
“Overnight, ground teams continued searching with support from RCMP Air Services, Civil Air Search and Rescue Association drones, and the Canadian Search Dog Association dogs,” Kennedy says.
As well, they are employing the use of software that will help analyze footage captured by the drones being used in the search. According to Kennedy, this software catches anomalies that the human eye can miss.
Kennedy says Macdougall, having autism and being neurodivergent, is something that is being kept in mind during the search. These considerations include not using loud noises as they have been identified as startling, and also not using bright lights during night searches in an attempt not to startle the six-year-old.
“Another one is employing sounds that may be appealing to him,” Kennedy says. “That was employed by both ground searchers as they searched, as well as from the drones as they fly over some of the roads to try to drive Darius out to some of those areas.”
RCMP Corporal Gina Slaney says everyone is still hopeful that Macdougall will be found, and the RCMP is working with the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass to provide a way for people to help.
“People want to help, it’s just an instinct when something like this happens in a small town, everybody wants to help,” Slaney says. “So we’re trying to set up something where people can drop off non-perishable food items, water, Gatorades, granola bars, for the family and for the people on the ground that are searching.”
Slaney emphasizes that they are telling people not to come into the search area and help.
“We have everybody who’s here is trained, and we need to make sure things are done properly, so we definitely don’t want that to happen right now.”
Kennedy, who is on the ground of the search, says he has been able to speak with many of the searchers, and among them, there are high hopes that the six-year-old will be found.
Corporal Slaney adds that all tips being called in are being looked into, and the military has been consulted, but there are no plans at this time for them to help with the search.
Related story: RCMP aircraft to support search for missing 6-year-old
