Remains of missing hiker Melissa McDevitt found on Vancouver Island
The skeletal remains of a 39-year-old hiker who went missing in the southern Vancouver Island backcountry one year ago have been found.
Melissa McDevitt, 39, last spoke to her family on Dec. 8, 2022, before heading out for a hike near Sooke, west of Victoria, the following day.
McDevitt was supposed to catch a flight to the U.S. from Vancouver the day after the hike, but did not show up, prompting a formal missing-person investigation on Dec. 10.
McDevitt's vehicle, a grey Subaru Forester with a North Carolina licence plate, was found in a parking lot near Sooke Potholes Regional Park.
Surveillance video from a nearby fish hatchery showed McDevitt, who was known to be an avid hiker familiar with the local backcountry, walking through a parking lot on Dec. 9 and entering a trail with hiking poles in hand.
Tom McDevitt, the missing woman's father, flew out from North Carolina to join the search that week.
"I needed to be here," said the concerned father. "My wife couldn’t make the trip because it was too emotionally draining for her to travel across the country."
Multiple co-ordinated searches were launched by volunteer search-and-rescue groups from across Vancouver Island, including over the summer.
A loose group of volunteers who organized on social media under the name "Mindful of Melissa" ultimately located her remains after spending most weekends since her disappearance searching for her, Island District RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Alex Bérubé told CTV News on Thursday.
The remains were found in very thick vegetation and McDevitt's hiking poles were found approximately 150 metres from her remains, the RCMP spokesperson said.
"Although a full determination has yet to be made, RCMP do not believe that criminality was involved in the woman's death," Bérubé said.
There was no indication found at the scene to suggest her death was a suicide either, he added.
The BC Coroners Service has been notified and is investigating the death.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6969838.1721358200!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
DEVELOPING Final night of the RNC: Donald Trump addresses the convention
The final day of the Republican National Convention is underway in Milwaukee where Donald Trump is currently speaking.
'We had a good run': High-profile Liberal minister quitting cabinet, not running in next election
Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan has announced he will not run in the next federal election, and will be quitting his cabinet position Friday.
Northern Ont. OPP sergeant charged with impaired driving
An Ontario Provincial Police sergeant with 26 years of experience has been charged with impaired driving in Cochrane.
Trump describes assassination attempt in personal detail as he accepts Republican nomination
Donald Trump, sombre and bandaged, accepted the GOP presidential nomination on Thursday at the Republican National Convention in a speech where he described how he felt during an assassination attempt that could have ended his life.
Once defiant, Biden is now 'soul searching' about dropping out of race: Reuters source
U.S. President Joe Biden is taking calls to step aside as the Democratic presidential candidate seriously and multiple Democratic officials think an exit is a matter of time, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Boy who was reported missing from a resort near Disney World found dead in water
A three-year-old boy who was reported missing from a resort near Walt Disney World in central Florida early Thursday was found dead in a body of water on the resort's grounds several hours later, the sheriff's office said.
B.C. woman who thought Coldplay concert 'was a date' must pay ex for ticket, tribunal rules
A B.C. woman has been ordered to repay her ex for a ticket to Coldplay's 2023 concert in Vancouver – in a small claims decision that highlights the distinction between gifts and loans under Canadian law.
2 dead after small plane crashes in Tofino, B.C.
Two people died and a third was seriously injured in a fiery plane crash in Tofino, B.C., on Thursday, according to authorities.
When will the 'Big One' earthquake hit? Scientists weigh in
Researchers say they know the 'Big One' is coming, but when should we expect it? Scientists say predicting when a megathrust earthquake will occur is a guessing game.