Body of missing hiker found near Parksville: RCMP

A three-day search for a 75-yearold man concluded Wednesday at Englishman River Falls Park in Errington, south of Parksville.

Oceanside RCMP said John Mathers, a fit and avid hiker, was found dead Wednesday. Police said the cause of death is not considered suspicious but no further details were released.

Mathers’ family has been informed of his death, RCMP said.

Ken Neden, search manager with Arrowsmith Search and Rescue, said Mathers was found in the afternoon in the park below the lower bridge, about 100 yards off a popular trail.

“It’s a very sad ending but at least … there is closure, we at least brought him home to the family, which is important,” Neden said.

“It’s not the ending you want to have but at least it’s an ending.”

Mathers’ vehicle was found in a parking lot in the park on Monday evening after he was reported missing.

Arrowsmith Search and Rescue was called in by Oceanside RCMP and was later joined by search-and-rescue volunteers from Cowichan Valley, Alberni Valley and Nanaimo. About 25 searchers in the area on Wednesday, said Nick Rivers, a search manager for Arrowsmith Search and Rescue.

About 15 more people were involved in organizing and overseeing the effort.

The park’s trail system is “vast” and has many connections, including into a logging area and beyond, Rivers said.

The area searched was dense forest and challenging terrain including steep inclines, two different waterfalls and a large canyon requiring rope teams and swift-water teams to be accessed and searched.

Neden said finding Mathers was the result of “a lot of searching.”