9-year-old girl found, man remains missing near Kejimkujik
'She's not injured and she's in good shape,' says RCMP spokesperson
Update: The missing man was found alive on July 3, 2019.
A nine-year-old girl who was missing overnight in Nova Scotia's Kejimkujik National Park after a canoe trip was found on Tuesday afternoon, and the search continued for the 46-year-old man who was with her.
RCMP said they were called in Monday evening when the pair didn't show up at home as planned.
The girl was found around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in woods.
"She's not injured and she's in good shape," said RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jennifer Clarke.
The man, Bradley James Hall, is described as an Indigenous man with grey medium-length hair, brown eyes and was wearing a long-sleeve brown shirt, tan pants and brown shoes.
They left last Friday on a three-day canoeing and camping trip to paddle the Mersey River and aimed to arrive at Jake's Landing in the park on Sunday, RCMP said in a news release on Tuesday afternoon.
Canoe found
A red canoe marked "Mad River Canoe" was located abandoned along the route Tuesday afternoon. Searchers also located two separate campsites near the canoe, indicating the pair headed inland once they left the canoe, RCMP said.
"We don't have the details of what exactly took place during the canoeing trip," said Clarke. "We don't know what led to the two leaving the canoe and heading into the woods."
The search area is outside the boundary of the park, police said. A command post for the search has been set up inside the park.
Hall had a large blue, teal and beige tent with him.
Police said the two were well prepared for the trip and had sufficient camping equipment and provisions with them.
A Canadian Forces cormorant helicopter assisted in the search on Monday night and Tuesday morning, at which time an RCMP helicopter took over at noon, said Mark Gough, spokesperson for Maritime Forces Atlantic.
Several ground search and rescue teams involved
Gough said the search is focused on the Mersey River area.
Volunteer ground search and rescue teams from Digby, Queens, North Queens, Annapolis and Lunenburg are also involved.
There were a few thunderstorms in the area overnight with some wind and the temperature reached a low of 12 C in the early morning hours.
RCMP are asking anyone who saw the pair to call them immediately to assist with the search.
With files from Jean Laroche and Paul Legere