North Shore Rescue volunteers are scouring the backcountry in hopes of finding any sign of a hiker who has been missing for almost a week.
Liang Jin, 21, texted his father on the morning of Dec. 31 to say that he was going hiking but did not say where he was headed. He hasn’t been heard from since.
Police issued a missing person notice on Sunday and accessed Jin’s computer to find he had been researching trails on the North Shore mountains and specifically the Hanes Valley, leading them to believe he took transit to a local trailhead.
North Shore Rescue volunteers searched for Jin until sundown on Monday and were back out again for most of the day Tuesday, looking for the missing man in highly challenging conditions.
“Basically they were just looking for any sign or tracks back there. There was about 12 to 18 inches of snow back there still and they weren’t able to find any sign of the individual,” said Mike Danks, NSR team leader. “We did have some large avalanches that swept through there so it’s really concerning for our members.”
The search effort would have benefited from North Shore Rescue being notified sooner, Danks said.
“The quicker we can respond to these incidents, the quicker we’re going to have a positive outcome. … At this point he would be a very, very lucky individual if he’s still alive back there. We’re hopeful, but at this point, he’s been out for five days,” Danks said on Monday evening.
The biggest help the search could have would be a witness to come forward with information about where Jin was headed, allowing rescuers to focus their effort.
Jin, who also goes by the name Leon Joy, is described as Asian, five foot six with a slim build. He was likely wearing a black Salomon backpack with white stripes on the straps.
The disappearance is similar to the case of Tom Billings, the British tourist who was last seen in November 2013. Weeks later, a witness came forward to say Billings was on the North Shore and headed to the backcountry, triggering a massive search.
“It’s frightening. It really is,” Danks said. “We have two guys the same age, very fit. They’ve done a little bit of research on the internet and unfortunately, they’re just not aware of how big the backcountry is and how quickly you can be very, very remote,” he said. “I think we really need to stress to the public that these areas are closed to the public during the winter for a reason.”
Anyone who may have seen Jin on the trails or aboard transit is asked to contact police immediately by calling 9-1-1.
