Authorities suspect a man reported missing west of Sundre left the area and are seeking assistance in determining his whereabouts.
“It’s believed that the individual left the area,” the local RCMP detachment’s Cpl. Joe Mandel said by text on Monday morning.
“Efforts are still being made to locate the individual, but with the help of other agencies.”
On the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 7, the Sundre RCMP responded to a report of a male missing from the former Mountain Aire Lodge in Clearwater County. The male, Terrance Kereluke, of Regina, Sask., was last seen at the facility going out for a walk alone at approximately 9 a.m., police reported in a press release.
“Facility staff members searched the surrounding area without locating him. A followup search was conducted by Sundre RCMP members with the assistance of Police Dog Services and was unsuccessful,” the statement reads.
The Sundre RCMP continued search efforts on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 8, with the assistance of three search and rescue crews from Sundre, Rocky Mountain House and Mountain View, a search helicopter crew, and fire services from Sundre, which provided a river rescue unit, and Clearwater County, which made available an unmanned aerial drone to assist.
Kereluke, 61, is described as Caucasian, six foot, with medium length grey hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing blue jeans with a black and white hooded sweater.
Police are asking for the public’s assistance to identify anyone who might have seen Kereluke or picked up an apparent hitchhiker matching Kereluke’s description in the area of Mountain Aire Lodge or the Forestry Trunk Road after 9 a.m. on Saturday. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Kereluke is asked to call the Sundre RCMP complaint line at 403-638-3655. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or submit information online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
Const. Shelley Nasheim, a police media contact, confirmed Monday morning that Kereluke had not yet been found.
“I hope he was picked up hitchhiking, but we just don’t know,” Nasheim said during a phone interview.
Roger Tetreault, senior search manager with Sundre Search and Rescue, said the weather was overcast and dreary, but that more than 20 people assisted with the search effort on Sunday.
With all of the other resources involved, Tetreault said, “with that kind of coverage, we covered a lot of ground,” and added responders were satisfied the area had been exhaustively searched.
“There are no places unchecked out there, we completed all of the priority areas,” he said, adding the best-case scenario is that Kereluke simply hitched a ride out.
Volunteer members of the Sundre Fire Department deployed the river rescue unit to assist in the search for the missing individual, who authorities now suspect left the area. Photo courtesy of Sundre SAR
