The search for three West Coast residents continued on Saturday as local boaters, RCMP and search and rescue crews maintained their collaborative efforts.
Grateful for all the people & resources back out today searching for three much-loved men. Thanks for all the messages & love. , , teams from Alberni Rescue, Arrowsmith, , , & so many locals from
鈥� Josie Osborne (@Josie_Osborne)
Five men were tossed into the water when their tin boat sank near Duffin Cove around 3 a.m. Two were located, one pulled from the water and another who swam to shore.
Members of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation have been supporting each other at Tofino鈥檚 First Street Dock, waiting for updates on the three missing men.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all focused really hard on resolving the situation in the best way that we can,鈥� Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation Executive Assistant Connor Paone told the Westerly News at the dock on Saturday.
鈥淲e have a lot of committed professional people on the water, on land and in the skies right now鈥he mood on the dock is hopeful. It鈥檚 sorrowful because of the situation that鈥檚 going on, of course. Right now, we鈥檙e just trying to keep our spirits up. We have a lot of people here trying to cheer people up and we have a lot of support from all the communities on the Coast here helping us do that.鈥�
He added West Coast communities have proven their ability to come together in a crisis.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been here before. Every handful of years there鈥檚 a tragedy on the Coast and, every time that happens, you see all the communities come together,鈥� he said. 鈥淐ulturally speaking, the [Tla-o-qui-aht] Nation鈥檚 really close. All the families are really close with each other and anyone that鈥檚 involved or has been around can see that just with the amount of people that are here, the amount of donations that have come in from local businesses, from family members, from the community at large to help support the families and the people that are on and off the water searching.鈥�
While and handed the file over to the RCMP as a missing person鈥檚 case, Westcoast Inland Search and Rescue Manager Garth Cameron told the Westerly that the search team was bolstered Saturday morning with SAR crews arriving from Nanaimo, Comox and Courtenay.
鈥淏oth the Tla-o-qui-aht and have a ton of boats on the water and lots of boots on the ground,鈥� he added.
Cameron said the search鈥檚 momentum has not waned in the second day.
鈥淓verybody deals with tragedy differently. From a SAR manager point of view鈥e just push, push, push,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e always hopeful and it鈥檚 always a search. We鈥檙e looking for somebody. When we find that person, then we鈥檒l cross that bridge; whatever that bridge may be and I, for one, will never speculate that it鈥檚 something else besides a search. Right now, we are still looking for three missing people.鈥�
Paone said the best way for locals to assist is through donations of food and water to the search teams and that any boaters wanting to join the effort should check in at the dock first.
鈥淚f you want to get involved in the search, don鈥檛 just head out on your own,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ake sure you鈥檙e checking with Search and Rescue. If you鈥檙e unsure, the best thing to do is come down to the First Street Dock here and check in in person with them to make sure that we get you tasked out officially. The worst thing that could happen is to have another set of people head out there and get stuck themselves.鈥�
