It has been more than a week since six-year-old Darius Macdougall disappeared while on a camping trip with his family in southwestern Alberta, and still, search and rescue crews appear to have found no sign of him.
The Lethbridge, Alta., boy went missing on Sunday, Sept. 21, near Island Lake Campground, just south of the Crowsnest Pass, about 250 km south of Calgary.
In their latest update, searchers said that, based on a major statistical analysis involving the boy’s health, the terrain and the impact of weather and the amount of time they’ve spent looking for him, his estimated chances of survival are “less than five per cent.”
RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney said Sunday that search tactics were also changing to reflect that.
On Monday, HALO Air Ambulance announced in an online post that one of its helicopters had been dispatched to assist with a search and rescue mission in the Crowsnest Pass area, which Global News has confirmed is the search for the missing boy.
While Slaney said there’s no plan to provide another media update on the search on Monday, the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is putting out another call for public assistance.
The municipality said, in a post on social media, that a public information session, described as “a staffed, information-gathering session,” not a public briefing, will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday at the Crowsnest Sports Complex.
The notice said the purpose “is to collect information that could assist search efforts for the missing child,” including observations from the past week, photos or videos from trail cameras, dashcams or phones, notes on caves, rock outcroppings, outbuildings and details on any vehicles seen in the area.
However, members of the public are also being asked to continue to stay away from the search area and avoid posting any unverified information online.
In case of an emergency or possible sighting, people are being advised to call 911.