The search for a youth who went missing during torrential flooding in West Hants, Nova Scotia, has been temporarily suspended by the RCMP. The decision comes as the search site is flooded, making it unsafe for searchers to continue their efforts.
Superintendent Sean Auld, support services officer for the Nova Scotia RCMP, stated that despite extensive efforts, the missing person, who is under the age of 18, has not been located yet. During the search over the weekend, search team members encountered deep pockets of water in the area adjacent to a flooded hayfield in Brooklyn, N.S. These pockets of water are too dangerous for searchers to navigate due to their depth.
To ensure the safety of searchers, the search has been suspended temporarily, allowing the water to naturally drain from the site over the next few days. Once the pockets of water have subsided, the search efforts will resume.
Earlier, on July 24 and 25, the bodies of 52-year-old Nicholas Anthony Holland, six-year-old Natalie Hazel Harnish, and six-year-old Colton Sisco were discovered. Holland and one of the children were found in the primary search site, the flooded hayfield in Brooklyn, while the other child’s remains were discovered by civilians in a nearby coastal area.
The missing youth was with Holland when their vehicle was pushed off the road into a flooded field during the heavy flooding.
Approximately 60 to 70 people, including first responders and volunteers, have been involved in the daily search efforts. Several Nova Scotia fire departments, search and rescue teams from various regions, the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, Nova Scotia Public Safety and Field Communications, RCMP police dog services, and civilian contractors have been contributing to the search.
The search has also utilized industrial, high-flow pumps to divert water out of the flooded field, equivalent to the volume of a lake.
Additionally, a third search area along the shore from Halls Harbour to Brooklyn and from Maitland to Brooklyn has been established. Search efforts in these areas have been focused on the edges of the river systems flowing into the Minas Basin, with support from RCMP air services.