Remains of 2 people found after life-raft washes ashore on Sable Island
People are believed to be man, 70, and woman, 54, reported missing last month
UPDATE: On July 22 RCMP and the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service identified one of the sailors as a 70-year-old man from British Columbia. Police said they're also confident the other sailor is a 54-year-old woman from British Columbia. Police previously reported her age as 60. They didn't provide any further details.
Nova Scotia RCMP say the bodies of two people have been recovered after a life-raft carrying their remains was found washed ashore on Sable Island earlier this week.
Police believe the people recovered are a 54-year-old woman and a 70-year-old man from British Columbia reported missing last month.
In a news release Friday, police say Parks Canada contacted the RCMP and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) on Wednesday at around 3:15 p.m. AT after the vessel was discovered.
The 3.3-metre life-raft found on Sable Island, about 290 kilometres southeast of Halifax, is believed to have been from a larger vessel named Theros, police say.
RCMP say Theros was reported missing to the JRCC on June 18 after leaving Halifax harbour on June 11 en route to the Azores.
The medical examiner is still working to positively identify the individuals, police said, but next of kin have been notified.
On Facebook, images shared on a page titled Theros Sailing Adventure, which appears to have been run by Brett Clibbery and Sarah Packwood, show Theros departing from the Dartmouth Yacht Club on June 11.
In a video shared that same day, Clibbery provided an update on their journey.
"We're away from the Nova Scotia coast now. We're 16.6 nautical miles (30 kilometres) away from where we started," he said.
It wasn't the first big sailing expedition for Clibbery and Packwood.
On YouTube, the pair regularly posted video blogs about their travels on the Theros, including sailing expeditions along the Nova Scotia coastline and in the United States and Mexico.
"This channel is the place where we share videos of our journeys as we travel around the globe either by sailing our GibSea 42 ft sailboat, kayaking to explore caves and coves, or using the number 11 bus (ie on foot) on long distance walking trails, including el Camino de Santiago or across Canada by electric car," they wrote in the channel's description.
Last update received June 13
The last update from the duo aboard Theros was received by family and friends on June 13, said Len Hickey, the JRCC's senior public affairs officer.
"There was no signs of distress and their planned route had them arriving in the Azores on the second of July," said Hickey.
"The last known position of the boat was in the Rescue Coordination Center Boston area of responsibility and that was just southeast of Sable Island."
When the vessel did not materialize on July 2, Hickey said the JRCC conducted a search — which followed the boat's intended route — with help from the 413 Squadron Greenwood, a CC-130 Hercules aircraft and a provincial airliner out of Halifax.
It concluded on July 4 without locating the vessel. Additional searches were conducted near the Azores, with no discoveries, until the life-raft was found on Sable Island on July 10.
Police said the investigation is still ongoing, with the assistance of Parks Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard and the JRCC.