VANCOUVER — Rescue crews on the hunt for missing hiker Tyler Wright found signs of his whereabouts Tuesday.
Footprints and a 15-metre slide path indicate that Wright tried, and failed, to climb out of a creek bed in the Bull Creek area, according to a Squamish RCMP news release. The footprints led away from the area, confirming that Wright continued on from there, RCMP said.
Because of these clues, search and rescue teams have narrowed their focus to the Bull Creek area.
Ten days have passed since Wright, 35, was scheduled to return from a solo hike of the Mamquam Pass trail. The 24-kilometre hike, also called the Fool’s Gold trail, starts near Squamish and ends near Coquitlam.
Wright’s friends and family are hopeful he will be found, said Alan Bedingfield, one of his close friends.
“Finding new tracks is always encouraging,” Bedingfield said. “Our fingers are crossed.”
Rescue crews described the terrain where Wright is thought to be as “heinous” and “tough-going,” the RCMP said. The area is known for steep slopes, cliffs and heavy forest growth.
An intensive ground and air search started Aug. 18 when Wright was reported missing, two days after he was scheduled to meet friends and family in Coquitlam. Three helicopters and 37 people on the ground made up Tuesday’s search team, said Squamish RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dave Ritchie. A police dog and a search and rescue dog have joined the team, Ritchie said.
Evidence of Wright’s previous whereabouts was found over the weekend. RCMP assess whether or not to continue the search daily, Ritchie added.
People can survive for “quite a while” in the backcountry if they have water and berries, and Wright was in good health the last time he was seen, he added.
Bedingfield described Wright as an “amazing and passionate” individual. The two friends not only worked together at Bedingfield’s media company, but also used to live together in Jasper. They often hiked in the Rockies, Bedingfield said.
“In my experience he’s been very, very capable,” he said of Wright’s backcountry skills. “Obviously this is different terrain,” he added.
Wright lives in Yaletown, Bedingfield said. He owns Megawatt PR, a public relations company.
“He tells stories for a living,” Bedingfield said. “Hopefully this will just be another story for him to tell.”
A native of Maple Ridge, Wright is a “single guy” who has “the largest network of friends of anyone I’ve ever met in my life,” Bedingfield said. Wright’s parents and sister also live in Metro Vancouver.
Although they are distraught, Bedingfield said Wright’s family and friends remain hopeful that this story will have a happy ending.
For more information, visit www.missingtylerwright.blogspot.com.
emilyjackson@vancouversun.com
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