Calgary

Mother of missing Aussie now in Calgary

The mother of an Australian man who vanished in southern B.C. in August is now in Calgary, expanding the search for her missing son to Alberta.

Backpacker suffered head injuries, may be not remember who he is

The mother of an Australian man who vanished in southern B.C. in August is now in Calgary, expanding the search for her missing son to Alberta.

Owen Rooney, 24, was admitted to hospital in Grand Forks, B.C., after suffering head injuries during a fight.

Rooney's mother, Sharron, is in Calgary while other members of the family are driving from Grand Forks in order to put up posters and check homeless shelters along the way.

"It will be just gathering all our information and setting it up so we can actually do searching in Calgary and outlying areas from here," she said. "So it will be like setting up a little base here to be able to work from."

Rooney checked into the Grand Forks hospital on Aug. 14. He was bleeding from his ears and had two black eyes. He was also reportedly having hallucinations when he walked out the same day, leaving behind his belongings.

His family worries he may not remember who he is.

According to a website set up to try to locate him, Rooney was working in a Kelowna restaurant before he vanished.

Rooney is five feet nine inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds. He has a kangaroo tattoo on his right calf and speaks with an Australian accent.