The search area for a young boy from Lethbridge in Southern Alberta is expanding as efforts to find him enter their fourth day.
Five-year-old Darius McDougall went missing Sunday morning near Island Lake Campground, with RCMP and Alberta Search and Rescue now saying they will expand efforts to find him across increasingly hazardous terrain.
Darius was hiking with six family members when he became separated from them. RCMP say his autism may prevent him from responding to calls, complicating the search efforts.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Adam Kennedy with Alberta Search and Rescue confirmed that the area typically travelled by children with Darius’s profile has been thoroughly searched. Crews are now widening the search perimeter and venturing into more dangerous areas, including underwater zones.
“When they are looking at the distances a subject such as Darius may have travelled, what 25 percent of subjects in that profile travel, that has been searched,” Kennedy said. “We are moving out beyond that, out to the 90th percentile.”
RCMP say there is no indication of foul play at this time, but all possibilities are being considered.
The local community has been actively engaged online, offering suggestions and support. However, officials are urging the public to stay away from the search area to avoid contaminating the site, especially as search dogs are being deployed.
“We are able to put professionally trained searchers on the ground, which will give us a much higher probability of detection per searcher than if we were to use members of the public,” Kennedy added.
Anyone who has any contact with the boy is asked to call RCMP at 403-562-2866. Those who wish to stay anonymous can contact CrimeStoppers.