SRD K9's President Mike Ritcey and Ranger. (Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

STILL OUT THERE

How SRD K9s of BC, Kamloops RCMP keep up the search for long-term missing persons

Mar 1, 2024 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops is home to the Search Recovery and Detection K9s of B.C., a volunteer-run initiative using specially trained dogs to keep looking for people who have gone missing.

According to Mike Ritcey, a retired paramedic who now heads up the SRD K9s of B.C., a key component of many missing persons search efforts is having people and trained canines continue to look.

“There’s some good endings, and some not so good endings, and some are still out there.”

Ritcey and his dog, Ranger, currently have around half-a-dozen long-term missing persons cases in the region on their search radar. Because it’s a volunteer-based effort, they tend to focus on searching areas within reasonable driving distance and often collaborate with other search dog groups to fill in where they aren’t able to go.

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“Out to Revelstoke, Merritt, and around Kamloops,” Ritcey told CFJC Today. “As you know, Kamloops is pretty busy.”

Before going out to look in specific areas of interest, Ritcey and other volunteers will check in with the RCMP.

“They spend a lot of time on these investigations and that. And we’ll come in after everybody has quit looking, and then we’ll take our dogs in search areas,” he said. “But we’ll go wherever we can.”

The SRD K9s have been operating out of a new facility in Kamloops which provides more space for their equipment and training courses.

“Right now, we’re putting together a class on Human Remains Detection and we hope to get a whole bunch of people involved,” added Ritcey. “Right now, we have four dog teams that are active so we hope to double that coming up.”

Kamloops RCMP media liaison Cpl. Crystal Evelyn spoke to CFJC crews Friday (Mar. 1), noting that often, missing person reports the detachment receives are resolved relatively quickly with the safe location of the person. But when someone is not found after a lengthy period of time, those investigations stay open.

(Click here to view the BC RCMP’s active missing persons listings.)

“It’s important for the public to know that,” said Evelyn. “They stay open until the person has been located. And hopefully there is some closure that is presented to the family over time.”

The Kamloops RCMP detachment has a designated missing persons coordinator who digs into detailed investigative work, stays in touch with the families and works with the Serious Crimes Unit when investigative avenues start to run out.

Evelyn reiterates that if someone knows something that might be related to a missing persons investigation, they should call it in.

“I think sometimes people might be thinking, ‘Yeah, there was something and it’s always kind of sat in the back of my mind but maybe too much time has gone by.’ That’s not the case at all,” stresses Evelyn. “It’s important for families to get closure and one of the way that they can do that is by anybody who has any information to come forth. It’s not too late.”

Bringing closure to families, one way or another, is part of what motivates volunteers with SRD K9s of B.C. to keep combing the Kamloops area for answers.

“Being able to help somebody gives you a feeling of satisfaction and no matter the outcome, you’re still helping somebody and you’re giving them hope if nothing else,” adds Ritcey.