Faye Hanson, 73, was last seen on Oct. 22. (Nanaimo RCMP)
WATCH: The search for a missing woman near Ladysmith is now in its third day. Kendall Hanson has more from the search headquarters.
The search for a missing 73-year-old mushroom picker from Nanaimo entered its third day on Wednesday.
Faye Hanson was last seen on Sunday when she went mushroom picking west of the Nanaimo Airport. A friend told police Hanson left her home at approximately 12 p.m. in her blue 2014 Silverado.
READ MORE: Search continues for missing mushroom picker near Nanaimo
RCMP said her truck was found near the intersection of Timberlands Road and Ninatti Road on Oct 23 at 10:30 a.m.
On Wednesday, 45 search and rescue (SAR) personnel from 12 teams across Vancouver Island were looking for Hanson. A horse team took part in the search on Wednesday and there are also some teams from the Lower Mainland who are joining the current personnel.
Nanaimo RCMP Police Dog Services is assisting in the search, which is centred approximately five kilometres west of the Nanaimo airport. An RCMP helicopter is also being used. The helicopter has flown Hanson’s family over the area to show them what’s being done and why the search is so challenging.
SAR crews were blowing whistles every several minutes to help get Hanson’s attention, in case she is injured and stuck somewhere.
At the end of the day on Tuesday, personnel had covered 3 km2 in all directions around where Hanson’s truck was found. They are hoping they can extend that distance to 4.5 km2 by Wednesday night. The plan is to search until it gets dark outside then crews will start searching again during the daylight on Thursday.
“Some terrain in here that we’re dealing with is really tough,” Scott Larsen of the Comox Valley SAR said.
“A number of areas where there’s holes and crevices and rock areas that are particularly difficult for our search teams and our search dog teams.”
Anyone who sees Hanson is asked to call 911 immediately.
Crews search for Faye Hanson near Nanaimo on Oct. 24.
Alexa Huffman
