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The family of a six-year-old Lethbridge boy missing for more than a week says they won’t rest until he’s brought home.
A statement by the family of Darius Macdougall comes as the search for the boy is in its second week and hundreds of search and rescue members from Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, comb through thickly forested and mountainous terrain in the Crowsnest Pass are of southern Alberta.
It says the family is thankful to the searchers for their dedication and that the community’s support has provided them strength and hope.
The search for 6-year-old Darius Macdougall is complicated because he has autism, so may not respond to searchers when he sees them or hears them call his name.
missingchild.ca
Darius was reported missing on Sept. 21, after he didn’t return from a walk with other young relatives near Island Lake campground, where the family had been camping.
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A massive search from both the ground and the air, involving up to 200 searchers at a time, has so far been unable to find and signs of the boy.
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6-year-old Darius Macdougall went missing on Sept. 21, while out for a walk with other young family members, near Island Lake campground in southwestern Alberta.
Courtesy: RCMP
Maegan Bernicky, the boy’s mother, told a local television station she’s very concerned for her son.
“I’m pleading with my entire being,” she told Bridge City News in an interview. “If anyone knows or has seen anything, tell the police.”
RCMP had previously maintained optimism of finding the boy from Lethbridge, Alta., alive, but on Sunday his chances of survival were estimated at less than five per cent.
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RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney says crews will now focus on “higher probability” areas that have already been searched and says ground crews are following up on leads from the public.
Searchers have described the area as mountainous, with lots of elevation changes, streams and deadfall and overnight temperatures that have dropped to the low single digits.
RCMP have said there is nothing to indicate foul play was involved in the boy’s disappearance, and so far there has been no decision to scale back the search.
With files from Global News.
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