A family on Vancouver island is pleading for help in their search for Ethan Sampson who has been missing for three months.
The 28 year old was last seen on Jan. 28 on the Stuminz reserve near Duncan, B.C.
Witnesses say they saw him slip into the Cowichan River.
“He came down here fell in about down here some where,” said his father Darrick Sampson. “We could tell because it started getting late already with the time change so yeah he fell in here and the he end up going down that way down the middle then to the left way down there.”
The river was high because of heavy rains.
People called 9-11 and the RCMP and search and rescue crews launched a search.
Twenty seven people from nearby communities helped in the search to no avail.
Because of strong currents it’s been too dangers for divers to go in and search.
Now, three months later, the family is continuing to search for him except they say they’re on their own because of COVID-19.
“Because of the state of emergency with COVID-19 we are finding that there are a lot of volunteers practicing social distancing and taking those precautions and staying home,” said family friend Jen Charlie.
Derrick Sampson said they need more resources.
“Figure he might be in a deep hole and the log jams need to be searched underneath,” he said. “We are looking for divers we need divers.”
The stress of what happened has taken a big toll on the family said Derrick. His wife Joyce suffered a stroke.
