Search for missing hiker Gordon Sagoo scaled back

RCMP are scaling back their efforts to find missing hiker Gordon Sagoo after Chilliwack Search and Rescue (SAR) recommended to suspend the search.

Fifty-year-old Sagoo disappeared last Sunday while hiking Chilliwack’s Baby Munday Peak.

He was travelling with two friends but decided to visit another peak while they hiked to a nearby lake. Sagoo never arrived at their meeting spot.

The decision to end the search comes just after Sagoo’s family pleaded for help to help find him.

“This has been one of the most agonizing and challenging times our family has gone through. Nothing has been harder than returning home each day without him,” said Sagoo’s niece Manpreet Gill.

Sagoo’s family and search and rescue crews returned to the mountain daily, looking for signs of the missing man.

READ MORE: Renewed appeal to help find missing hiker Gordon Sagoo

North Shore Search and Rescue also brought in a thermal imaging camera to track Sagoo, with no luck.

Chilliwack’s Search and Rescue said the decision to suspend the search came after long consideration.

“After consulting with SAR Managers from Kent Harrison SAR, Coquitlam SAR and North Shore Rescue, the management team from Chilliwack SAR reviewed all aspects of the search operation on Sunday…a report was presented to the Chilliwack RCMP recommending the suspension of the search of Mr. Sagoo,” read the release.

“He is strong, determined, resilient – there isn’t a powerful enough word to describe my uncle,” said Gill during Sunday’s press conference.

Friends say Sagoo is physically and mentally strong.  He took up long distance running in his mid-forties and completed several marathons.

“Gordon was a gentleman who was obese prior to taking up running and really transformed his life. It became his passion. It became his mission in life to support others and help them achieve their fitness goals,” said Mike Casagrande, who participated in a running group with Sagoo.

The family released a statement following the RCMP’s decision thanking the Chilliwack SAR and the RCMP for their efforts.

“We have received an overwhelming amount of support from family, friends and the community. This is a true testament to Gordon’s character,” read the statement.

They say the family will continue the search privately via other channels.

“We have not given up hope of finding Gordon and it is important for us, and for all that have been affected, to gain closure.”

The family had set up a fundraising page for anyone wishing to help, which they say will now help them keep their search efforts going.