Search for missing Tofino boaters scaled back, handed over to RCMP

TOFINO, B.C. – The search for three men who have been missing since their boat sank early Friday morning is being scaled back, after hundreds of search experts and volunteers scoured the sea and coastline with no luck.

Navy Lt. Melissa Kia, spokeswoman for the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, says assets from many different organizations have assisted in the search since the call came in at 3 a.m. on Friday.

But after 18 hours, the JRCC had to reduce the search and hand it over to the RCMP, which is treating it as a missing persons case, she said.

"We really threw everything we've got at it and to come up empty handed is really heartbreaking," Kia said.

Kia said community members and volunteers are continuing the search, but could not speak on behalf of their efforts.

Five people were aboard the open, six-metre boat that sank without a mayday call Friday morning.

One person was found in the water south of Felice Island, half an hour after rescuers received the call for help.

Almost an hour after that, a second person swam ashore to Duffin Cove.

Both were taken to hospital.

Rescuers determine a "survivability" time frame using computer modeling that considers many factors, Kia said.

Factors may include what the individuals were wearing, how they came to be in distress, water temperature, winds, tides and whether they had life vests, she said.

In this case, the JRCC reduced its search after 18 hours.

"What we do is we take that number, it's not hard and fast in every case, and we will stretch it to the maximum and throw everything we've got at it, as was the case in Tofino," she said.

Kia said it's not uncommon for RCMP to classify a search and rescue case as a missing persons file, once the case is handed over to them.

She said the community response to the disaster has been "overwhelming."

"We would like to thank the countless volunteers from the community surrounding Tofino and Ucluelet and all of our First Nations partners. The response was really quite overwhelming, there were hundreds of people who took to the water and to scour the coastline," she said.

"Our thoughts go out to the families of the loved ones; it's very heartbreaking to turn this case over unresolved."