Two B.C. men vanish on Vancouver Island days after sailing north from Panama

UCLUELET, B.C. – A search is underway on Vancouver Island for two British Columbia men who have not been seen for almost a week.

A RCMP news release says 37-year-old Daniel Archibald and 43-year-old Ryan Daley docked their sailboat in Ucluelet harbour on May 13 and then left it three days later.

Both men were carrying large duffel bags and Daley was also wearing a yellow and green backpack.

The news release says the men have had no contact with friends or family in Squamish since last week.

Friends have launched a Facebook page saying it's believed Archibald and Daley were heading to a residence in Jordan River, B.C., and likely intended to hitchhike the nearly 300 kilometre route.

Ucluelet dockmaster Kevin Cortes was the last to see them on May 16 and says they had paid for one month of moorage for their newly purchased boat, which they had bought in Panama.

"When they left they had full packs, so they wouldn't have been going hiking because they left with a lot of gear," Cortes said.

"I assumed they were going home, or at least in that direction."

Archibald and Daley were healthy but tired after a long trip, Cortes said, adding there was nothing out of the ordinary about them during the three days they spent in Ucluelet.

There is video footage from the day they left the harbour and Cortes said he thinks they got a ride from someone in the harbour's parking lot, but it's out of camera range.

Police want to speak to anyone who may have seen the pair, both described as 5-foot-9. Archibald is of average build with strawberry blonde, short hair, and Daley has short, dark hair and hazel eyes.