Update

The month of September has proved to be quite challenging for the search efforts. The heavy rainfalls, high winds and low cloud cover have not allowed us to get as much done as we had hoped but here is an update on what has been done.

As you may know, SAR did open the search back up for a couple of days at the beginning of the month. For two reasons: 1. to cover off areas that were not complete during the initial search and, 2. to investigate some areas of interest. SAR went back in to some very rough areas to search further. They had to be long-lined into Disc Creek/Spindle Creek areas. No evidence of Ty was found.

We have hired quite a few private helicopters, over 35hrs worth, with trained spotters since then. The first helicopter to go out was rigged with a special camera and had the doors removed for low altitude spotting. The areas that they have been flown include: Bull Canyon, Warner Creek, the West Ridge Line into the Coquitlam River drainage, Pitt Pass Junction and The East Ridge above Debeck Creek. The Debeck pass, Homer Creek, Homer Drainage and the entire Fools Gold Trail was flown over again in their entirety and 85-90% of the Coquitlam River was flown at low altitudes and at low speed. During these flights an old Cairn was found. Searchers were put back on the ground to search the surrounding areas of the Cairn, but no eveidence of Ty was found.

A second helicopter company was hired for a different perspective. The areas they covered were Mostly Bull Canyon, Debeck Pass and Warner drainage. They also found no signs of Ty, however did report a lot of wildlife activity.

A third Helicopter was hired and they were able to fly with cameras mounted at low altitude at low speed. They started at Warner Drainage and criss-crossed the search area East to West, heading North through Boise Bumps into Homer Creek/Homer Drainage. At the first opportunity of sunshine, they went out just this past Thursday, September 23rd, and spotted an old fire pit as well as partial prints. This information was passed on to Squamish SAR right away and we are waiting to hear if they will be investigating this find.

There hasn't been a stretch of consecutive sunny days for hikers and ground crews to search. We are hoping that in the next couple of weeks we will be able to get some people out on the ground, provided the weather cooperates.

Again, we thank you all for your support, positive comments and generosity.

YOUR DONATIONS ARE HELPING

Since the SAR search was suspended on Sunday August 29th, Ty's family and friends have not backed off at all. We have chartered helicopters with trained spotters to fly various areas along Ty's suspected route including the Coquitlam River, Coquitlam Watershed, Bull Creek, Debeck Creek, Pitt Pass, Homer Creek and Mamquam. Special attention was paid to creekbeds and ridgelines as it was known that Ty was especially interested in the viewpoints. Due to these flights we have been able to identify some additional areas of his potential route that need to be explored further.

We have also had various volunteers who have began hiking and searching the Pitt Lake and Widgeon creek areas. On Thursday, Coquitlam SAR sent out a few crews to attempt to search areas that had not been completed from the original search including the Coquitlam River and Disc Creek, by foot. We are awaiting an update on the completion of this effort.

On Friday, a team of family and friends were boated up to the northern tip of Indian Arm and hiked to the Coquitlam Watershed and North toward the Anne Lakes. We spent a total of 10hrs on the ground and, while we did not find any signs of Ty, we were able to appreciate the dedication it takes to conduct a search like this.

We have scheduled air searches for this week but have been delayed due to weather. We will continue to charter helicopter flights, explore the hiring of private search crews, as well as conduct additional ground searching to find Ty.

Your inspiring comments and kind words have helped us all to get through each day with the hope that he will be found very soon. We are very thankful to all of you who have allowed us to keep looking for Ty through your generous donations.

Search continues

We are still focusing on locating Tyler.  SAR has identified some areas that need to be searched further, notably the Coquitlam Watershed, from the northern tip down.  We have received a number of offers from volunteers to go in and search areas surrounding the watershed and Bull Creek/Warner Creek/Bull Bowl. These offers are much appreciated. 

We have hired private helicopters to fly the drainage areas and will continue with these efforts.  We are also strongly considering expanding the search to include ground searching of areas outside of the original search as there is some thought that Ty may have attempted to hike the "Ridgeline Trail" between Indian Arm and the Coquitlam Watershed.  


Many people continue to ask how they can donate funds towards Tyler's search. Please use the PayPal link at the top left of this screen or write a cheque to Ty's sister, Carmen:

Carmen Hebert

11225 Palmer Rolph Street

Maple Ridge BC

V2W1H1

It is the generosity of all of you, that has allowed us to continue with the search efforts to find Tyler.

Thank You for your continued support,

Tyler's Family