Search party numbers dwindle in hunt for logger missing from Duck Mountain camp
Mark McKelvey, 36, went missing July 24 in heavily wooded area in western Manitoba
Marsha McKelvey just wants to find her uncle, but as more time goes by, the number of committed searchers scouring the dense forests in western Manitoba where he disappeared is declining.
"It's very hard every day, especially when we go out looking for him and we didn't find nothing," McKelvey, 29, said of Mark McKelvey, 36, who is presumed missing 330 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg in Duck Mountain Provincial Park.
"It's just very depressing and confusing. We have no idea where he is; he just vanished in thin air … We can't sleep."
McKelvey was last seen on July 24 walking away from the Trisum Logging camp where he works in the park.
RCMP located his hat and sunglasses not far from his camper, family said. Several different agencies pitched in as aircraft performed surveys from above, but RCMP called off official search effort on July 28.
"It was heartbreaking to see the rescue teams pull out of there so quick," said Mark Paul, 42, Marsha's partner who has known her uncle for nearly 20 years.
At the outset, family say, nearly 50 people showed up to help. Fewer than 10 loved ones were still at it over the weekend.
"I'm stressed out ... people are stressed out, they're tired," Paul said. "We need more people out there."
'They won't talk to us'
As time passed in the weeks that followed the disappearance, the sense of urgency died down among rescue officials and even McKelvey's employer, Paul and McKelvey said.
"They won't talk to us whatsoever," McKelvey said of Trisum Logging. "Less than 48 hours after Mark went missing, they were already running their equipment and starting work.
"They're falling trees there. Mark could be anywhere. You're working; what if a tree falls on him?"
The missing man, who is allergic to bees, was stung twice in the days before he went missing — once on July 21 and again on July 23, according to family. He experienced swelling and was treated at a nearby hospital in Roblin in the first case, but Paul says he didn't receive care in the second case.
"He started hallucinating. I don't know why they would've never got him out of there," Paul said.
'No leads'
Roger Roesler has been camping out with the others since his brother-in-law went missing.
"Nobody's got closure," he said. "Everybody is frustrated."
Roesler now makes the drive out on weekends from Winnipeg to bring supplies to the camp, about 12 kilometres from where Mark was last seen.
"There's no leads, there's no foot prints," he said. "We're in desperate need of searchers out there because the bush is just way to big and way to thick."
Besides more volunteers, Roesler wants search-and-rescue dogs, people who own all-terrain vehicles or even a drone operator to donate their time and expertise as soon as possible.
No dogs used in search
Paul said he found several things about how the search was initially conducted "baffling," including the decision by the RCMP to not use specially trained rescue canines in the search.
"Dogs were not brought in for the search due to the number of people in the area at the time as this greatly impacts their ability to track a scent," RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Paul Manaigre told CBC News.
Paul and McKelvey are making the long drive back to Duck Mountain this weekend. They have no plans of stopping anytime soon.
"As long as it takes," the pair said in unison. "He has three kids. They're relying on us. They're relying on people."
Anyone interested in volunteering or making a donation to help the group buy supplies can contact Mark McKelvey's sister, Debbie McKelvey, at debbie.mckelvey1@gmail.com.