Arrowsmith Search and Rescue teams are combing the back roads west of the Mosaic Forest Management compound in Nanoose Bay Thursday, the last place 45-year-old Sara Sherry was seen seven days ago.
“We had about 40 people out last night and another 30 or so out today, and we’re just going to keep covering off those logging roads to see if we can get some resolution to it,” said Arrowsmith SAR search manager Nick Rivers.
Sherry was last seen on surveillance video turning onto Northwest Bay Logging Road from Highway 19 at 6:20 p.m. on Feb. 15.
“And so we have reviewed that video and we’re not confident that the vehicle exited the same way it came in, through the Mosaic gate, so it’s a vast area back there so we need to search that area and confirm that she is not out there or locate her out there,” said Oceanside RCMP Sgt. Shane Worth.
Sherry lives in Errington but isn’t familiar with the back roads.
She was driving a grey 2017 Nissan Frontier pickup truck with BC license ML 6181.
Story continues below
A truck similar to missing woman Sara Sherry’s is shown.
“There are miles and miles and miles of logging roads back there and potentially very treacherous conditions with high bridges and short curves and steep curves and rocks and things like that,” added Worth.
It’s a large search area that crews have only been able to drive so far.. Visibility in the air is very limited due to low clouds and aircraft waiting to join the search have been grounded.
Only an RCMP drone was searching in the air Thursday, but was unsuccessful.
“Yeah so as of now we haven’t been able to fly helicopters, yesterday or today, just due to the low cloud cover,” said Rivers. “We also have the civil air search and rescue staged at the Nanaimo Airport with their planes, which again haven’t been able to fly due to low cloud cover.”
The RCMP helicopter Air 8 based in Comox did fly for about 30 minutes late Thursday afternoon but was also unsuccessful.
Searchers are hoping for better weather Friday and are asking the public who might be in the back country around there this weekend to keep an eye out for Sherry and her truck.
If you see it call 911.
Dean Stoltz
