UPDATE: The body of Taylor Elliott was found on December 17,2013.
Cold temperatures have police worried about the safety of a Pincher Creek man who was last seen Sunday morning.
22-year-old Taylor William Elliott hasn’t been heard from in four days and his family and friends are growing desperately concerned for his safety.
“His family is very close to him and they’ve been out searching non-stop,” said family friend Janet Jones. “They’ve been going day and night and we’re just starting to run out of places to look.”
For the loved ones of Elliott, each passing day without him safely found feels like years.
The community of Pincher Creek has been searching relentlessly for the man since his disappearance.
“It’s believed that he left about 4:30 in the morning on the first with a backpack,” said Sgt. Randy Dixon of the Pincher Creek RCMP. “At first it was a large backpack, now it’s been confirmed that he left with a smaller, camouflaged backpack.”
“There was something that transpired through the night Saturday,” said Jones. “I’m not at liberty to say what it is that’s a police matter. But he’s scared, he’s confused.”
Numerous resources have been exhausted, as countless volunteers, Mounties, conservation officers and search and rescue crews comb through the vast back country for signs of Elliott.
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“We’ve had an RCMP helicopter out but they didn’t find anything. But then we’ve had sledders, we have people snow shoeing we have people on skis, on horses,” added Jones.
Elliott left on foot from a rural residence leaving no clues behind, turning what began as a five mile search radius into a cross province man hunt.
Elliott was known to be an avid outdoorsman, often travelling into the backcountry to hunt. While he is equipped with survival skills, RCMP say in these conditions that may not be enough.
“There’s a chance that he didn’t want to be found at first, but now that the weather has turned bad and it’s really cold, he needs to be found,” said Jones.
“If anybody has anything that is even remotely bugging them in the back of their mind or something, ‘hey I saw some guy on the highway at 7 am on Sunday morning’ we need to know about it.”
Through blizzard conditions, into a deep freeze, every minute Elliott remains missing is a reminder of the potential danger he faces lost in the wilderness.
Volunteers say Elliott does not have his wallet with him, and his phone is either off or dead. Anyone with information is asked to contact Pincher Creek RCMP at (403) 627-6000.
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