As it hails on Saturday, April 27, in the Dee Lake area northeast of Lake Country, search teams from across the province are teaming up to look for a missing Kelowna senior.
More than 50 searchers, as well as dog and ATV teams, are looking for 79-year-old Allan Francescutti, who was last seen leaving his home in his Dodge Ram truck on April 16.
“It’s currently hailing at Dee Lake and searchers are having difficulties making their way through swamps and deadfall, but remain optimistic,” Duane Tresnich from Central Okanagan Search and Rescue (COSAR), told Black Press.
Francescutti’s 2021 pickup truck was discovered in the forest near Postill Road, in the area of Beaver Lake and Dee Lake, five days after he was last seen.
The regional search group has spent the last week in Kelowna’s backcountry searching for the man, including on Friday, April 26, when 40 volunteers from across B.C. joined the search.
Police consider Francescutti — who was last seen wearing a black leather jacket and is described as having grey hair and green eyes — as a “high risk” senior.
COSAR on Saturday asked the public to avoid the Dee Lake area until he is found.
“Hunters are asked to check their game cameras for any sign,” they added.
READ MORE: 40 volunteers coming to Kelowna to aid in search for missing senior