**”* RCMP Media Release
UPDATE: Search for missing youth in West Hants
The search for the youth who went missing on July 22 in West Hants has been temporarily suspended to allow the remaining water in the secondary search area to drain.
“Despite an extensive search to date, we, unfortunately, have not yet located the missing youth,” said Superintendent Sean Auld, Support Services Officer for the Nova Scotia RCMP. “As the searchers continued their work over the weekend, they encountered deep pockets of water in the secondary search zone; searching these pockets is too dangerous for searchers, due to the depth of the water.”
It’s expected the pockets of water will drain naturally over the next few days. When the area is deemed to be safe, some search activities will be resumed.
On July 22, a man, two children, and a youth were reported missing after the vehicles they were travelling in were caught in floods in the Brooklyn area. On July 24, the remains of a 52-year-old Windsor man and one child were located. On July 25, the remains of the second child were found.
Search activities in the primary search area in Brooklyn were completed on July 27. Search efforts over the weekend were focused on a secondary area, which is immediately adjacent to the primary search location; 85% of the secondary area has been drained and searched. It’s expected some search activities will resume in the secondary area when the deep pockets of water have drained.
Search activities also occurred in a tertiary search area, which ran along the shoreline from Halls Harbour to Brooklyn and from Maitland to Brooklyn. These search activities concluded on July 30.
To date, searchers have covered more than 495 acres of ground, 104 square kilometres of watershed and tidal waters, and 417 square kilometres of shoreline by air.
About 65 searchers per day, including first responders and volunteers, have been involved in the search. The search has been led by the Nova Scotia Ground Search and Rescue Association, with personnel from West Hants, Valley, Halifax, Colchester, East Hants, Eastern Shore, Sheet Harbour, Clare, Digby, Strait Area, Pictou, Musquodoboit, and Annapolis County. On water search has been supported by Brooklyn Fire Department and numerous other fire departments. Also engaged throughout the search have been the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, Nova Scotia Public Safety and Field Communications, Emergency Health Services, Civilian Air Search and Rescue Association, Office of Fire Marshall Critical Incident Stress Management Team, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, RCMP Police Dog Services, RCMP Air Services, West Hants District RCMP, civilian contractors, and other partners.
