Searchers say there is less than 5 per cent chance missing boy still alive in Alberta
RCMP not scaling back search for missing Darius McDougall. ( Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh )
Searchers looking for a six-year-old boy who went missing in mountainous terrain in Alberta a week ago say the likelihood he’s still alive is less than five per cent, but they say the search has not been scaled back.
However, Adam Kennedy with Alberta Search and Rescue says tactics will change given the low probability Darius Macdougall is still alive, such as focusing less on using heat-seeking aerial cameras.
Kennedy says searchers will also place more weight on the possibility the boy might not be physically able to respond to people calling out for him.
The search had already been using tactics geared for the possibility Darius might not respond, since he has autism.
Darius was last seen Sept. 21 while walking with young family members in the Crowsnest Pass area, where the family had been camping.
RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney says officers spoke with the boy’s family Sunday morning about the survivability evaluation, and that they explained how factors like the elements, rugged terrain and length of time the search has been going on played into the calculation.
“Just because we’re saying survivability is limited right now does not mean we’re stopping looking for Darius. We’ll still continue. We’ll continue until we find him,” Slaney told an online news conference Sunday.
Kennedy told the news conference the area is mountainous with lots of elevation changes, a couple of streams and deadfall, and that overnight temperatures have dropped to the low single digits.
He said 200 personnel remained involved in the search on Sunday, including about 100 search-and-rescue volunteers. He also said that while search dogs currently at the site are effective for finding a live subject, he said their use has changed.
When asked whether cadaver dogs had been brought in to look for a body, he replied they had not.
On Saturday Slaney said about 60 trained Tactical Support Group personnel were doing a “shoulder-to-shoulder” search on Saturday of the area the boy was last seen, in the hopes of finding clues.
There has been nothing to indicate foul play in the boy’s disappearance, Slaney said Sunday.
She also said officials were continuously evaluating the resources and tactics used in the search, but at this point no decision has been made to scale back the hunt.
“Rather, we are refocusing. So some things will change, but this does not mean that we’re scaling back. We’re still out there in full force searching.”
Word of the low probability Darius is still alive is likely affecting morale of the search team, Kennedy said, and supports for them are in place.
“It’s been going on for seven days. They are searching with determination, so they are keeping up the search. They’re going out and giving their 100 per cent today,” Kennedy said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2025.
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