VANCOUVER -- Mission RCMP’s Serious Crimes Unit has taken over the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of an elderly Deroche man.
And a clue police have uncovered has the family more worried than ever.
“We’re so afraid of what might have happened to him,” Tara Pranauskis told CTV News.
Her uncle, 83-year-old Dan Halak, was last seen Nov. 2 at his farm.
“He’s not answering his phone. It just goes dead when we try to phone him,” she explained.
On Monday, his green 1998 Chevy Blazer was found on Prior Street in Vancouver. But there was no sign of Halak.
“Between him being gone for so long which is unusual…and the area they found his truck, we just figure that it’s not good right now,” Pranauskis said.
She says because of her uncle’s fear of COVID-19, he was primarily sticking close to home in Mission or the family home in Delta.
“We would have never expected to find his vehicle in Vancouver,” Pranauskis said.
An RCMP forensics team is going over the vehicle. Mission Mounties told CTV News there were no keys in the Blazer and no signs of forced entry.
Meanwhile, search and rescue teams, family and police have been scouring the senior’s property and the area around it, looking for any sign of him.
“I know for a fact the RCMP has sent helicopters out, has done scans of the area and have sent teams out to the Mission house and police officers to the Delta house,” Pranauskis said.
Halak’s family, along with RCMP, have also been putting up posters with his photo, hoping someone will have seen him. Investigators are also looking for any surveillance video from the 200 Block of Prior Street where his vehicle was located.
“We’re covering everything we possibly can to try and find him. As time goes on, we don’t want to say we’re losing hope but it seems like we’re now thinking the worst,” his niece said.
