The search for a young Lethbridge, Alta., boy who went missing while on a camping trip with his family in southwestern Alberta, is now into day five and there are about 120 searchers from Alberta and British Columbia involved, according to the latest update from the RCMP and Alberta Search and Rescue on Thursday.
Six-year-old Darius Macdougall disappeared while going for a walk on Sunday, along with five other young family members, near Island Lake campground, about four km south of Crowsnest Pass — about 250 km south of Calgary.
When the group returned to the family’s campsite, the boy was not with them.
The search for 6-year-old Darius Macdougall is more challeomplicated because he has autism, so may not respond to searchers when he sees them or hears them call his name.
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Adam Kennedy of Alberta Search and Rescue said crews have been focusing on a search radius of about four km from where the family was camping, “with some of the trail searches extending out to approximately eight km.”
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6-year-old Darius Macdougall went missing on Sunday, while out for a walk with other young family members, near Island Lake campground in southwestern Alberta.
Courtesy: RCMP
The search has been made more challenging because the boy is autistic, or neurodivergent, and may not process information in the same way as other people.
It also means the boy may not respond or interact well with people calling his name.
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“So the neurodivergence that was identified is being taken into consideration during the search operations,” said Kennedy.
“Some of the considerations being put in place is one, not using loud noises that’s identified that it may be startling.
“One other consideration is not using bright lights during the nighttime searches as an attempt to not startle Darius,” added Kennedy.
A photo of the staging area, near Island Lake campground, in southwestern Alberta, where about 120 search and rescue members are looking for a 6-year-old Lethbridge boy who went missing on Sunday.
Courtesy: RCMP
What searchers are also doing is using sounds that may be appealing to him, including one of his favourite songs that is being played by both searchers on the ground and by drones as they fly over the area, in an attempt to lure Darius out where he can be seen by searchers.
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Without the permission of his family, the RCMP would not reveal what that favourite song is.
Aerials of the search area, provided by the RCMP, show it is covered in dense forests, steep mountainous terrain and numerous waterways, including rivers, lakes and boggy areas, which searchers say require those on the ground to work almost shoulder to shoulder to effectively cover the area.
Searchers are also using dogs, all terrain vehicles, drones, helicopters and a request has been made for some crews to join the search on horseback.
Kennedy said some new software technology has also been brought in to analyze aerial videos.
“The computer systems they have can run previous or footage as it’s obtained through that software to find small anomalies that the human eye would not likely pick up looking at a screen or even looking through the footage after the fact.”
“It just identifies very tiny anomalies. Some turn out to be unfounded, but then there’s a potential that some could give us some indication as to where to find Darius,” added Kennedy.
An aerial view of a staging area being used by searchers. There are now about 120 search and rescue members looking for 6-year-old Darius Macdougall.
Courtesy: RCMP
The overnight temperature in the search area dropped to about 3 C.
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A wilderness expert who spoke to Global News said chances of a person’s survival are much better if the temperature remains above freezing, but hypothermia is concern, especially in the mountains, where the weather can change quickly and dramatically.
Brent Koinberg, owner of Crowsnest Adventures, who offers wilderness trips in the area, said “the most important thing is to stay out of the wind.”
Koinberg also estimates the average person could survive “three or four days” without water.
Fortunately, he said the boy should have lots of access to water.
“I give the child a good chance of survivability because it’s an instinct that we’re born with. If we’re thirsty we look for something, right?” said Koinberg.
“He’s got a good chance because there’s lots of water around that area.”
Despite a search that is into its fifth day, and still no sign of a missing 6-year-old Alberta boy, searchers insist they are still hopeful Darius Macdougall will be found alive.
Source: Zoom
Five days into the search and with searchers admitting so far there has been no sign of the little boy, they were also asked if there has been any talk of when they might be talking about scaling back the search.
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“I can tell you 100 per cent that has not been discussed,” said RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney, who insisted “there is no current plan to scale back. We are going to do everything we can to find Darius.”
“As of right now, we are still working on the assumption that Darius is alive and the search temple reflects that,” added Kennedy.
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