Dozens of searchers continued to comb the woods and waters around Youbou on Friday for a man who went missing a week ago. Search parties have been fanning out to scour the vast areas of woodlands and private properties on the north side of Cowichan Lake for Nicholas Marion, 38, who hasn’t been seen since he left a home at 11439 Youbou Rd. at 6:30 a.m. on June 30.
Jamie Tudway-Cains, head of Lake Cowichan Search and Rescue, said the search had been expanded to include the lake.
“We are searching from the water as well, by boat and shoreline searching,” Tudway-Cains wrote in an email on Friday.
Tudway-Cains said a large-scale search will continue Saturday with teams from throughout the Island and possibly the Lower Mainland. “We will keep going until we find him.”
Dory Marion, wife of the missing man, issued a plea for help in a post on her Facebook page. “My beautiful husband, who lights up this world, is still missing near Youbou and we need more people today,” Marion’s post said. “Please come for a hike. We have an organized plan to cover the area, but need more people. We have all kinds of hikes to accomplish as there is a rich trail system and lots of forest. Please consider helping. I’m desperate for help.”
Cowichan Search and Rescue has set up an operations base at Pine Point Campground, west of Youbou and across from the home where the couple were staying with friends at the time of Marion’s disappearance. Dogs are assisting in the ground search, while other searchers are scanning the region by air.
About 40 searchers were working in a circular pattern, fanning out from the point where Nicholas Marion was last seen to determine his direction of travel, Tudway-Cains said this week. The area includes roads, trails and residences. Searchers are asking area residents to scour their security video for clues and to check outbuildings and all areas of their properties.
Searchers have been working from about 8 a.m. to nightfall each day, while other SAR volunteers work overnight to plan out the next day’s search.
Nicholas Marion is described as six feet tall, 174 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and a short beard. Anyone with information is asked to contact Lake Cowichan RCMP at 250-749-6668.
