Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue is scouring the rugged landscape around Castlecrag Mountain with helicopter support today in a renewed search for missing hiker Sylvia Apps.
Though a week-long search was called off earlier this week, search and rescue teams are engaging in targeted searches this weekend to ensure the most-likely areas in which Apps may be found are checked again.
Searchers continue to be baffled by Apps's disappearance in Vancouver Island's mountainous Strathcona Park.
The 69-year-old resident of Courtenay, B.C., failed to return from a five-day solo hiking trek. She was last seen on July 8, when she began her hike in the Paradise Meadows area of Mount Washington. She was expected back on July 13.
Last week, searchers found her backpack in one location, her walking sticks and camera in another, and her name in the logbook on one of the peaks on her route.
Paul Berry, president of the Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue, said it was the first time they had failed to find someone despite finding all of their belongings.
Berry said he believes Apps, who was properly equipped for the hike, likely suffered a medical emergency such as heat stroke and was unable to think clearly while awaiting rescue.
Google Maps: Castlecrag Mountain