Search underway for hiker missing from park in remote area of northern B.C.: RCMP

FORT NELSON, B.C. — Police in northeastern British Columbia say they’re searching for a man who has failed to return from a 10-day camping trip in a remote provincial park.

RCMP say Sam Benastick’s family reported him missing on Saturday, after he didn’t come home from the trip to Redfern-Keily Park, located about 250 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John.

They say Benastick started his hike on Oct. 7, his last update to his family was the following day, and he was supposed to return last Thursday.

The Mounties say Benastick is an avid hiker and camper, and he left on the trip with a tarp, a black Osprey backpack with red strings and other supplies.

They say “extensive resources” have been deployed to find him, including search and rescue personnel and the RCMP police dog services unit.

Anyone with information or who has visited the Redfern-Keily Park area since Oct. 7 is asked to contact the Northern Rockies RCMP detachment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.