Mannequin to be launched in brook to help find missing Nova Scotia 3-year-old

A day after calling off the search for missing Nova Scotia three-year-old Dylan Ehler, the Truro Police Service is launching a mannequin equipped with radio frequency equipment into a brook, in hopes it will provide clues to the child's whereabouts. 

The mannequin is approximately the same height and weight as Dylan and will be put into Lepper Brook Wednesday afternoon. One of Dylan's boots was found in the brook, and another was found further down the brook at the mouth of the Salmon River.

The mannequin will also be wearing clothes similar to the ones Dylan was wearing when he was last seen. It will be tracked by helicopter and through its radio transmitter, as it heads down the brook

Dylan has been missing since May 6. He was playing outside of his grandmother's home on Queen Street in Truro before his disappearance.

It appears the grandmother turned away from Dylan to handle her dog, and when she turned back the boy was gone, police said last week. 

The search turned into a recovery operation last Thursday after no new clues were found.

Truro Police Chief David MacNeil said the day to launch the mannequin was chosen because the tide conditions are very similar to the day Dylan went missing. 

"This this isn't an exact science. We fully recognize that," MacNeil said. "This is another tool in the searchers' toolbox that we're going to employ. We're all committed to trying to find Dylan, so if this is a tool that we can use that may give us some new leads or some new area to search, then we're we're going to do that." 

MacNeil said police are hoping to learn from the route the mannequin takes how far the missing boy may have travelled if he did fall in the water.

Over the weekend, crews combed through a riverbed, helicopters flew overhead and police canvassed the area again. Then on Tuesday the search was called off. 

The exploratory trial with the mannequin will be carried out by Truro police, Nova Scotia's provincial dive team and Colchester Ground Search and Rescue. 

Reporting stations will be set up along the Salmon River to monitor the radio signal from the mannequin. The dive team will be in Salmon River to help out during the test. The river flows into Cobequid Bay, which is part of the Minas Basin.

Ocean tides Wednesday were similar to what they were on May 6, which is part of the reason the trial is going ahead now. 

The town is also removing the stop logs from the reservoir on Lepper Brook Wednesday afternoon to simulate the brook conditions on May 6. 

Residents are asked not to call 911 if they see anything suspicious in the river during this operation, said the town.

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