‘Bring this little guy home’: Alberta RCMP continue search for missing 5-year-old

A search is underway for a five-year-old boy in the Crowsnest Pass area, missing after he wandered away from his family Sunday.

Alberta RCMP members are continuing to search for a five-year-old boy who went missing in the Crowsnest Pass area over the weekend.

Darius Macdougall was reported missing on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

He was last seen walking with his family about four kilometres south of Crowsnest Pass near Island Lake Campground – about 150 kilometres west of Lethbridge.

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Officials say Macdougall was camping in the area with his family.

He went for a walk with six of his siblings a short distance from their campsite but became separated from the group.

“Darius was not among the ones that returned,” said Sgt. Mark Amatto, detachment commander of Crowsnest Pass RCMP, in a Monday news conference. “They went back to the site, searched for a good time before calling 911 and search and rescue was deployed immediately.”

Amatto said RCMP are optimistic that they can find him, and weather is working in their favour.

“The search is a 24-hour search,” he said. “It scales down slightly at nighttime for the safety of all parties; the terrain is alpine, mountainous terrain. It is very technical … There are multiple creeks and rivers at play, including some beaver dams. Due to the complexity of that terrain, we need to make sure that we take our time and thoroughly go through.”

SAR teams from Alta., B.C.

People from multiple agencies are involved, including search and rescue teams from both Alberta and British Columbia.

The search teams are being aided by drones with thermal imaging, dogs and helicopters.

“Right now, all resources are in play to bring this little guy home,” Amatto said.

Police had said previously he has a “medical issue,” which may prevent him from responding to others. On Monday, Amatto said Macdougall has autism but added that he is not non-verbal.

Peter Alfred with the Southwest Alberta Region Search and Rescue Society said they are “very confident” they will find him.

“There’s no reason to believe there will not be a positive outcome,” he said.

“As any parent can tell you, trying to predict how a five-year-old boy will react in a specific situation is difficult at the best of times, so we need to keep that in mind. Fortunately for us, we are able to draw upon the provincial resources in Alberta, and we have several search and rescue experts that are working with us through the RCMP and providing us the best advice.”

Macdougall is described as being four feet tall with short brown hair, and he was last seen wearing a blue/grey hoodie and sweats.