Elderly mushroom picker missing near Nakusp

A 71-year-old Burnaby man has gone missing in a remote area near Nakusp in the West Kootenays.

Kyung Chun was picking mushrooms last week. He hasn’t been seen since September 14, and wasn’t discovered missing until September 19.

His family members are overcome with grief and worry.

His van was found stuck in the mud down a logging road a couple of kilometres from camp.

“All the doors were locked,” said Kyung’s son Shane. “When we opened the door we found his jacket, his medication, some of his medication, mushrooms, a sleeping bag, some food.”

The family says Kyung was planning on returning to his vehicle based on what he left inside. They have spent days combing Fosthall Flats, northwest of Nakusp, along with RCMP and Search and Rescue, from his camp straight south of where the vehicle was found, over to Arrow Lake.

“It’s just a mystery,” said Kyung’s daughter Sandra. “Because if he’s in the woods they should be able to find him, and that’s what the Search and Rescue said. The dogs should be able to locate a scent.”

But so far there has been no sign of him, and the weather isn’t helping.

“We do want him alive and well and we do want him to come home,” said Sandra. “He is our father and his grandchildren, and he has people who love him.”