Search effort underway for boater missing off Nanaimo

Ryan Pratt, 35, was living on a sailboat moored off Hammond Bay Road when he was reported missing to police on Dec. 2, 2023. (RCMP)

A search effort has been launched for a missing boater who was last seen off the coast of Nanaimo three days ago.

Ryan Pratt, 35, lives on a sailboat moored off of Hammond Bay, according to Mounties. His friends reported him overdue on Saturday morning, after he was last seen heading toward his boat in a small skiff Friday afternoon.

Police said they checked the sailboat, but Pratt wasn’t there. His red aluminum skiff was also found washed up on a nearby island, and a canoe he used was found adrift.

An “extensive search” of the shoreline by Nanaimo Search and Rescue, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and the RCMP West Coast Marine Services has come up empty as of Monday afternoon.

Police are urging anyone with information about Pratt’s whereabouts to call the Nanaimo RCMP detachment at 250-754-2345.