Missing man's vehicle found in West Vancouver, search and rescue crews say

Surrey RCMP shared this photo of missing man Scott Phillips. (Surrey RCMP)

Search and rescue crews have been tasked with looking for a missing man whose vehicle was recently found on the North Shore.

Scott Phillips has been missing since Sept. 27, and Surrey RCMP issued an appeal for information about his disappearance on Oct. 8.

On Thursday, North Shore Rescue posted on social media Phillips' vehicle – reported by RCMP to be a black Kia Sorento – had been found near the Brothers Creek trailhead in West Vancouver's British Properties neighbourhood.

NSR said Mounties and the West Vancouver Police Department had asked it to search the area, adding that personnel would be "active" Thursday evening and throughout the day Friday.

"Anyone who has been in the area over the last month and has any relevant information or sightings, please contact the police," the search team said.

Surrey RCMP said Phillips was reported missing to them on Sept. 29. He was last seen Sept. 27 "at a business in the Park and Tilford mall area in North Vancouver," police said.

Mounties describe Phillips as a 43-year-old white man with short brown hair and brown eyes. He stands 6'1" tall and weighs 200 pounds, and he has "multiple tattoos on his legs and arms."

Phillips also has the letters "OKAY" tattooed on the fingers of his left hand, police said.

According to Surrey RCMP, the missing man is "an experienced outdoor enthusiast" who is known to frequent the Cypress Mountain area and to camp in the backcountry.

The North Shore was hit hard by last weekend's atmospheric river, which dropped hundreds of millimetres of rain on the region, causing creeks to overflow and leaving some streets looking more like muddy rivers.

Province-wide, at least three people died in flooding and mudslides during the storm. A fourth man, Robert Belding, remains missing in Coquitlam, but crews said Thursday they're now treating search efforts as a recovery mission, meaning Belding is presumed dead.