RCMP search for missing padddler in North Saanich, B.C.

Police in Sidney and North Saanich, B.C. are asking for the public’s help in finding a missing paddler.

RCMP report Robert Gray was last seen on Sept. 29, 2021, rowing  in a “dinghy style boat” offshore near Tuam Road in Deep Cove, about nine kilometres northwest of Sidney.

“Police Air services, Coast Guard and other partner agencies have been engaged,” Cpl. Andres Sanchez told Global News on Friday.

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“Police helicopters are currently sweeping the area and the smaller islands in the event that Mr. Gray has been stranded.”

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The Mounties say there’s a chance Gray returned to shore but has not checked in with friends or family. Officers are also trying to determine whether he is missing as a result of a boating accident, he said.

Gray is described as a 30-year-old Caucasian man with long blonde hair and blue eyes, weighing about 170 pounds.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call local police or Crime Stoppers.

Editor’s note: This article was updated at 9:11 a.m. PST on Oct. 2, 2021. Gray was not paddle boarding, but rowing in a “dinghy style boat.”