The family of a missing man who separated from two friends while hiking in Chilliwack, B.C. is still hopeful he will be found as the search enters its second week.
Gordon Sagoo, 50, is an avid trail runner and became separated while hiking with a group on Baby Munday Peak, in the Cheam mountain range on Aug. 14.
On Sunday, his friends and family gathered in Surrey to keep the search for him alive after a week-long effort.
“Nothing has been harder than returning home each day without him,” said Manpreet Gill, Sagoo’s niece. “In my heart I know he’s out there fighting to come back home to me and my grandma.”
During the hike Sagoo separated from his friends to explore higher peaks alone, and was last spotted descending the mountain where he was expected to meet at the trailhead. He never arrived.
"There're a couple of key areas that are still in question that were accessible to him,” said Ed Kumar, Sagoo’s friend. “If he had slipped down a slope he could've gotten injured, or trapped in some high tree and foliage."
RCMP and Search and Rescue have searched a two kilometer radius from the air and from the ground. Dogs, drones and infrared technology have all been used as well - but there has been no sign of Sagoo.
The search has been suspended for the moment while rescue crews review the results. It’s up to police to decide if and how it will continue.
“Chances of survival are minimized at this point,” said Doug Frazer, Chilliwack Search and Rescue.
"The RCMP has the ultimate authority here, but they certainly take all of the information that is provided by Search and Rescue and weigh that into making their decision.”
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Jonathan Glasgow
