As of the morning of April 10, a missing man in Hay River had still not been located.According to an RCMP news release on April 7, it is continuing to search for 34-year-old Junghwan (David) Park, who was last seen in Hay River on April 3.
Since being reported missing by his co-workers on April 4, the Hay River RCMP have been conducting searches by foot, on snowmobile and in the air for any sign of Park.
On April 7, the RCMP, with the assistance of the Hay River Fire Department, organized searches of wooded areas near Park's residence on Morin Place, as well as other wooded areas and trail systems in the area.
However, Park was not located in the search.
Nicky Wang, one of Park's friends who has taken to Facebook to encourage people to look for the missing man, thanked the searchers.
"We haven't found him, yet," she said in a Facebook post on April 8. "We still have hope that he is alive so we will continue to search for him in other areas of town. Thank you for your prayers and support. Please stay with us until we find him. We desperately need Hay River people's care and attention."
Along with RCMP members and firefighters, 27 community residents and friends and co-workers of Park joined the April 7 search.
In a brief address to the searchers gathered at the fire hall, RCMP Sgt. Brandon Humbke told them Park drove a co-worker to The Rooster on the morning of April 3, spent some time there and then went home.
The missing man was last seen at 10:45 that morning at the Home Hardware store.
"We've since learned through cell phone tracking that his cell phone was last at his residence at 11:30 in the morning on Tuesday (April 3)," said Humbke.
The sergeant noted Park's vehicle and his identification are at his home on Morin Place and there is no indication that he travelled anywhere.
"It's out of character for him, for sure," Humbke said of Park's disappearance.
Cpl. Todd Scaplen told the searchers that the RCMP itself has done extensive searching, both on the ground and from the air.
Scaplen said the additional searchers on April 7 were to fine tune a check of the wooded area near Park's residence.
"Just to make sure there's nothing missed, there's nothing out of the ordinary in a certain area," he said.
While community residents searched the woods, RCMP members went door to door on Morin Place and asked people to check their sheds and any vehicles parked for the winter.
"The RCMP would like to thank all those who assisted in the search areas today and will advise of any future searches for those who would like to volunteer their time to help locate David," stated an April 7 news release from the RCMP.
"The RCMP is continuing to investigate David's whereabouts and request that residents and business owners check their properties, including sheds, vehicles, other buildings, etc., for anything suspicious or that may seem out of place," the news release added. "Motorists are also asked if they observed anyone walking along the highway system in the Hay River area matching David's description to contact the Hay River RCMP, as well."
Park is described as being of Korean descent, 5'8'' (177 cm) tall, 150 lbs (68 kg), with a slight build and short black hair and brown eyes. He speaks Korean with limited English.
At the time of his disappearance, Park is believed to have been wearing a khaki jacket described as a tan sweater and may have been wearing a black baseball cap with a yellow letter 'P' on the front. He may also be wearing glasses.
Anyone who has any information on Park's whereabouts can contact the Hay River RCMP at 874-1111 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, nwtnutips.com or text nwtnutips
at 274637.