UPDATE: Nanaimo RCMP say the missing couple and their dog have been found, and reunited with family.听听
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Dozens of search-and-rescue volunteers resumed the search early Friday for a Nanaimo couple who did not return from a day of fishing near the city.
Tamara Sandulak, 29, and Cody Martin, 32, told family and friends they were heading to the Nanaimo Lakes on Wednesday to fish for the day.
The couple were reported missing to the RCMP Thursday and a search was initiated in the Nanaimo Lakes and Echo Lake area.
Sandulak and Martin are considered avid fishers and mushroom pickers.
They are experienced in the outdoors and have been to the area where they planned to go fishing multiple times to fish and pick mushrooms. Police say the disappearance is out of character for the couple.
Their phones pinged Wednesday near Second Lake, but have since stopped transmitting a signal and appear to have run out of battery power, said Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O鈥橞rien. Nanaimo Search and Rescue found tire tracks near Echo Lake, but have not determined whether it matches the couple鈥檚 truck.
Search-and-rescue crews on foot and on ATVs looked for the couple late into the evening Thursday. An RCMP helicopter was also used. Crews resumed the search at 7 a.m. on Friday, hoping to find the missing pair or their burgundy Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck with sa国际传媒 licence plate NV9240.
The truck is not parked at the couple鈥檚 Nanaimo home, but all four of their boats have been accounted for by police. The couple were believed to have been fishing from the shore, O鈥橞rien said.
The couple鈥檚 dog, a black lab cross named Rex, is believed to be with them.
Search-and-rescue crews from Cowichan and Arrowsmith were expected to join Nanaimo Search and Rescue Friday. Police asked the public not to join the search as the area is being logged and several days of snowfall have made driving conditions dangerous.
Martin is described as six feet four, 210 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a black jacket and tan-coloured pants.
Sandulak is five feet six, 140 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen wearing a black coat and blue jeans or leggings.
Anyone with information on their location is asked to call 911 or the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345 and quote file # 2020-41121.