‘Difficult and emotional time’: Search resumes for Airdrie man missing in Banff

BANFF (660 News) – A search and recovery effort has been relaunched for an Airdrie man.

Yannick Bastien, 26, went missing in Banff National Park between September 21 and 22 in the area of Lake Minnewanka. His family say he intended to go canoeing at the time of his disappearance.

He was declared missing on September 24 and that’s when family and friends began searching the area. His truck was found at the scene and a helicopter located his canoe on the south side of the lake.

“Over the past three weeks we have conducted searches on the ground, by helicopter and boat, and used cadaver dogs,” the family said in a statement.
“Two different sonar teams are searching the bottom of the lake along with a volunteer dive team.”

In a Facebook post, friends appealed to the public for others to join their search party after previous search efforts were suspended on September 28 due to weather conditions.

Nearly 20 hikers responded to the call to action and have been assisting in a ground search this weekend.

“This has been a very difficult and emotional time for our family and we are extremely grateful for all the help we have received throughout this process,” the family said.

A gofundme page that has been set up for the family to help offset some of the costs they have accrued over the past three weeks while searching for Yannick.

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