Rescuers hit the trails once again in an effort to find a missing solo kayaker who hasn’t been seen in three days.
Langford resident Timothy Ross, 38, launched his kayak from the Ella Road area in Sooke on Jan. 10 at around 12:55 p.m. and was supposed to return home at around 4 p.m. that day but never did.
On Tuesday, as huge waves pounded the shoreline, members of the Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue were out combing soggy trails near the Botanical Beach shoreline area — some 70 km away from where Ross initially launched his kayak at Ella Beach.
Victoria Clarke of Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue said the hope is that Ross made it to shore and is somewhere on the trail, but that weather at this time of the year is a factor in where someone in kayak might end up.
“I think weather is a huge factor in this kind of search, for sure, in terms of where someone in a kayak might end up,” said Clarke.
Described as an experienced kayaker, Ross was reported missing to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre at around 7 p.m. on Sunday, triggering a massive air and marine search. A Cormorant helicopter and Buffalo aircraft were deployed and three Canadian Coast Guard vessels along with a U.S. Coast Guard vessel also joined in the search.
But despite all the efforts, searchers have not been able to locate Ross.
“We’re searching for any evidence of Tim and we remain hopeful that we’ll find something that will lead to some answers,” Clarke said.
MORE: Joint search and rescue mission underway for missing kayaker in Sooke
Sooke RCMP has said a number of witnesses reported seeing solo kayaker continuing west along the coastline towards Port Renfrew during the day, with the last sighting being near the Shirley area.
CHEK News viewer Alida Volek believes she saw Ross in his cobalt blue kayak between Sooke and Gordon’s Beach between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Jan. 10.
Volek says she was out for a walk and her daughter, who was with her at the time, and waved at the man in the canoe. She estimates the man in the kayak was about 40-years-old.
Ross is described as a 38-year-old male who is approximately five-foot-eight inches tall and 170 pounds. He has blonde hair and blue eyes and was last seen in a black wetsuit, maroon striped wool toque and believed to be in a blue coloured river kayak.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sooke RCMP.
With files from Graham Cox
Mary Griffin
