Remains of long-missing Australian man found near Grand Forks, B.C.

BURNABY, B.C. — The remains of an Australian man have been found nearly seven years after he disappeared in southeastern British Columbia.

The provincial coroner’s service says Owen Rooney was 24 years old when he was last seen at a hospital in Grand Forks, where he left his belongings on Aug. 14, 2010.

It’s believed the electrician was hitchhiking back to his home in Kelowna after visiting the Shambala music festival near Salmo.

Members of Grand Forks Search and Rescue Unit were on a training exercise last month when they found what they believed to be human remains near Hardy Mountain.

The coroner’s service says the remains have been identified as Rooney’s and it is now investigating what caused his death.

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The service says police and search-and-rescue teams never gave up trying to discover what had happened to Rooney.

His family spent more than six months in Canada looking for him.

The Canadian Press