NORTH VANCOUVER — Searchers spent hundreds if not thousands of hours looking for a missing B.C. hiker this week, but there’s likely nothing that could have been done to save him, North Shore Rescue says.
The body of Howard Moore, 74, was recovered on Thursday, two days after he was reported missing to the Vancouver Police Department. North Vancouver RCMP members spotted his vehicle parked at Grouse Mountain with a note on the window dated June 27, stating he was headed for the Skyline Trail.
Over the next three days, dozens of searchers fanned out over the front side of Grouse Mountain for up to 12 hours per day, including helicopter support. Members of several other Lower Mainland volunteer search-and-rescue teams including Lions Bay, the Sunshine Coast, Ridge Meadows, Coquitlam and Squamish — came to assist, as did Metro Vancouver park rangers, Grouse Mountain staff and bystanders who simply wanted to help, North Shore Rescue team leader Mike Danks said.
“There are just a ton of braided trails off the common trails. It’s actually surprising how many there are that aren’t mapped,” he said.
On Thursday, a trail user’s dog tore off into a ravine just outside the Grouse Mountain gravel parking lot and wouldn’t come out. A North Shore Rescue member happened to be nearby and found Moore’s body, along with the dog’s owners.
Danks said it appears Moore arrived back from his hike and had stopped for a rest before falling.
“He still had his backpack on. I would imagine it was some sort of medical event that happened as he was sitting there,” he said. “The outcome would not have changed. He would have passed away immediately.”
All of Moore’s family live in the United Kingdom, Danks said, and they have been kept informed by North Vancouver RCMP.
Danks said the sad case underscores why it’s always best to hike with a partner, or at the very least, let someone know where you are going and when you expect to be back.
“It’s one of those calls where you just don’t expect someone to be so incredibly close. It’s such a frequently travelled parking lot,” he said. “Having the note is a small piece of the puzzle. The more detailed the information is, the more targeted our response can be.”
The B.C. Coroners Service will investigate the cause of death.
“It’s hard to not think it’s related to the heat wave…,” Danks said. “[He] was very well prepared. He was a very experienced hiker. And, he just met an unfortunate circumstance here.”
— With files from Brendan Kergin, Jane Seyd, and the Times Colonist
