Credit card, clothes found but U.S. man who travelled to B.C. for music festival still missing
Several belongings have been found, but there's still no sign of an American man who crossed the border to attend a music festival, officials said, announcing the suspension of search efforts.
South Columbia Search and Rescue spent four days searching for Harsha Paladugu in the Salmo area of British Columbia, but still haven't been able to find the missing 30-year-old.
In a social media post, SCSAR said its crew and others completed more than 8,000 hours of searching. More than 100 people joined the search over the weekend, undeterred by challenging terrain and high temperatures.
During the massive search effort, crews uncovered some of Paladugu's personal belongings, including clothing, shoes, his credit card and receipts. They said these discoveries helped create a bit of a timeline of his whereabouts and the direction of his travel.
But still, the 30-year-old man from California remains a missing person.
SCSAR announced Sunday night that it's calling off the search, at least for now. Members said the search efforts are suspended until further information is available or more clues are found.
"This is a tough result for not only the subject's family and friends but our searchers who have put countless hours into search efforts," the group wrote on Facebook, where it's been giving regular updates.
The effort to find Paladugu was impressive. In addition to SCSAR, it involved search-and-rescue teams from Rossland, Castlegar, Nelson, Creston, Kaslo, Cranbrook, Kimberly and Grand Forks, some of whom worked overnight so the SCSAR team could start fresh in the morning.
The group thanked the Salmo RCMP for support and help, the residents of the community for co-operating, a school janitor for providing access to washrooms, and the mayor, who supported teams and brought popsicles on Sunday when the temperature in the area climbed to 35 C.
They searched from the air, with an RCMP drone pilot and helicopter, and from the ground, with volunteer searchers and trained dogs. They combed through backyards, sheds and outbuildings, noting Paladugu was reportedly seen running through backyards in the area.
TIMELINE OF DISAPPEARANCE
What's been made public so far in terms of a timeline is that Paladugu flew to Vancouver from California on Wednesday, July 20. He stayed with a friend, and left the next morning, July 21, to go to a music festival in Salmo.
He'd planned to make the eight-hour drive to the Shambhala Music Festival through a ride share. The festival ran July 21 to 25.
According to police, after the festival Paladugu was going to visit a friend in Toronto, but it seems he's still in B.C.
He was seen on July 27, sitting next to a suitcase on the side of the road near the intersection of highways 3 and 6 about 3.5 kilometres south of the festival grounds.
The suitcase was found and confirmed to belong to Paladugu, but there was no sign of the missing man at the time. On the same day, there was a report of a South Asian man running through backyards in Salmo.
Police said they believe it was him, but weren't able to confirm.
If there have been sightings since then, Mounties haven't said. Paladugu was officially reported missing last Thursday.
The SAR efforts started that day, with 28 people spending 10 hours looking for the missing man.
"Unfortunately we were unable to locate Harsha but we did find a significant amount of information and clues that helped us determine his timeline, locations he appeared on video or sightings," SCCAR wrote.
On Saturday, with help from eight SAR teams through the Kootenays, the search ramped up, and was expanded to "all urban homes, yards and properties" in the search area.
Residents were asked to allow SAR to search their properties in a message that included the reminder: "We are not searching properties for any other reason other than looking for our missing person and any findings along our search will not be reported other than our missing person."
That day also included a search from the air, "but unfortunately came up empty."
Sunday was another extensive search, this time including nine SAR teams and many volunteers.
Paladugu remains a missing person.
A photo from South Columbia Search and Rescue shows search efforts for Harsha Paladugu.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.