Search resumes for cowboy missing in B.C. since the end of January

MERRITT, B.C. – A search has resumed for a cowboy who was reported missing in January and whose disappearance is being treated as suspicious by police.

RCMP Sgt. Janelle Shoihet says the scope of the search hasn’t changed much since Ben Tyner first disappeared.

Ground searchers are being assisted by RCMP dogs and teams in the air.

Last month, the Mounties said members of the southeast district major crime unit had reviewed the evidence collected since Tyner was last seen and determined the case may involve criminal activity.

Tyner was the manager of the Nicola Ranch, about 300 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, and was last seen on Jan. 26 as he rode out on horseback, possibly to search for cattle in the surrounding hills.

He was reported missing two days later when his saddled horse was found wandering on a logging road off Highway 97 northwest of Merritt.

Shoihet says the search would resume at the ranch and then police would retrace their steps now that the weather has changed.

“In January when the snow was covered, you know you’re not going to be able to see everything,” she said. “You know you’re hopeful at that point that Mr. Tyner was going to be found alive and that this wouldn’t be a recovery. That being said, you never know, stranger things have happened, so we have to hold out that little bit of hope.”

The previous search included RCMP officers and volunteers on foot and horseback, as well as in helicopters, vehicles and snowmobiles.

Before they left for their home in Wyoming in mid-February, Tyner’s family renewed their plea for any tips that might help the police.

(CHNL)