UPDATE: Vernon RCMP appeal to public for help finding overdue biker

VERNON – Search and Rescue has joined the effort to locate an overdue, and inexperienced, motorbike rider last seen Tuesday afternoon. 

Kyle Macinnes, 25, went out on his dirt bike at 4 p.m. April 21, and has not returned. 

“His family is very concerned as he is not a very experienced rider,” Molendyk says in a media release. 

The man left at 4 p.m., Tuesday and told his family he was going riding in the Commonage area. His family says it is out of character for him to have not come home yet, and notified police at 10 a.m., April 22.

Search and rescue teams from Vernon, Kelowna and the Shuswap have launched a search for Macinnes by both ground and air. Pete Wise from Vernon Search and Rescue describes the Commonage area as rugged territory and is advising anyone who isn't an experienced searcher to stay away. 

Macinnes was operating a grey and white Pinster bike that looked similar to the one pictured below. He was not wearing a helmet and had on a brown shirt, jeans and a black ball cap, police say. 

“The police are asking anyone who might have seen a person matching this description riding a dirt bike yesterday from the Mission Hill area to the Commonage as far as Predator Ridge to please call the detachment so we can follow up on it,” Molendyk says.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Vernon RCMP at 250-545-7171 or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

—This story was updated at 9:55 a.m., Thursday, April 23 with files from The Canadian Press.