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MERRITT HERALD NO SIGN OF MORRISON Ranch searched FREE
TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2016 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
COLD CASE
Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD
Allan Mole and the Kamloops Search and Rescue team scoured the Stump Lake Ranch for any signs Dean Morrison on Saturday, but the search turned up nothing.
Renewed search efforts for missing Merritt man Dean Morrison failed to materialize any new clues on the weekend. On Saturday (July 16) private investigator firm BCSI Investigations, two drone teams, and Kamloops Search and Rescue (KSAR) crews scoured parts of the Stump Lake Ranch and nearby ditches along Highway 5A for signs of Morrison, who was last seen on the property nearly three years ago. He had been working at the ranch as a contracted painter, and went missing Oct. 22, 2013. While investigators didn’t find any new evidence, footage taken from drones used in the search may still bear fruit. Two drone teams from Hummingbird Drones were used in the search and gathered about five hours of footage, which still needs to be reviewed, said KSAR manager Alan Hobler. Drones haven’t been used previous searches for Morrison. KSAR vice president Allan Mole said the drones were used to examine bodies of water, and other parts of the property not easily accessible by man. A drone’s eye view has the benefit of being able to look clearly into a lake. “You can imagine being 30 feet above the lake and looking straight down into the lake and reducing all that glare and being able to see into the water,” Hobler said. The aircraft was also useful in the search because it can fly into a canyon where it’s dangerous to send a searcher or fly a helicopter, Hobler told the Herald. Two small lakes were examined by the drones, but a thunderstorm rolled in before searches could fly them over Stump Lake. Hobler said they still intend to fly the drones over the lake. Signs of clothing are what they are primarily looking to find in the footage, Hobler said. “The assumption is [Morrison’s] still out there on the property, and we’re looking for some trace of him,” Hobler said.
Michael Potestio/Herald
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