New lead in search for missing hiker
Encouraged by the discovery of fresh clues, searchers are back in Manning Park this week looking for a Vancouver man who went missing during a hike last fall.
Jordan Naterer, 25, left his home in Vancouver on Oct. 10, 2020, for a planned day hike in the park off Highway 3 between Princeton and Hope. An initial search was launched after he failed to show up for a family gathering on Oct. 12.
The search, which was based on the discovery of Naterer’s vehicle near the Frosty Mountain trailhead, ran from Oct. 13 through Nov. 7.
Since then, Naterer’s family has organized its own searches and even raised $144,000 for the cause, but to no avail — until last week.
Police announced in a press release Tuesday that on July 4, a volunteer searcher in a “remote, limited access area” of Manning Park discovered what are believed to be some of Naterer’s belongings.
The release offered no details about the nature of the items or where exactly they were found, and Mounties didn’t respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The RCMP has deployed a helicopter to assist Princeton Search and Rescue in the renewed hunt for Naterer.
He is described as Caucasian, five-foot-10, with a slim build and short, brown hair. He was last seen wearing black pants and white running shoes. He was carrying a large, green backpack.
Naterer, a native of Newfoundland, held a master’s degree in electrical engineering and was working for a Vancouver software company at the time of his disappearance.
The Frosty Mountain trailhead is approximately five kilometres from the Manning Park Visitors Centre on Highway 3, and the peak itself is approximately two kilometres from the Canada-U.S. border.
Naterer’s family and friends have openly criticized police and search groups for giving up too soon, and even called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to personally intervene in the matter.