A desperate search is ongoing in the Cowichan Valley this weekend for a missing father of two.
Up to 60 search-and-rescue volunteers were scouring properties along Cowichan Lake Road on Saturday for any sign of Ben Kilmer, who was last seen Wednesday morning.
Family says this is out of character for the 41-year-old father of two and a discovery this week is leading to concerns about his safety.
Surveillance video shows him at a job site. His work van was later found abandoned along Cowichan Lake Road with the engine running. Adding to the mystery, a small amount of blood was found inside the vehicle.
“I just implore you to not give up, to stay the course, to pound this earth looking for this man who is quite honestly an outstanding human being,” Kilmer’s mother-in-law Maureen Corry said.
More volunteers are being brought in to search for the missing Cobble Hill electrician. So far teams have covered four square kilometres.
“We started off with hasty searches and we’ve actually been going to full grid searches now… searching through some fairly dense bush, which is slow-going,” Dewi Griffiths of Cowichan Search and Rescue said. “It’s pretty hard work, so it’s taken about two hours to cover 700 metres or so.”
Kilmer’s disappearance is considered suspicious.
Friends and family are holding out hope that he’ll be found safe.
“I can’t thank everyone enough and I pray to God that we find him,” Corry said.