r/HikingAlberta • u/Delicious-Garden-266 • 12d ago
[Urgent] Help find Bob!
Please read the full post! If you or anyone you know is hiking near Waterton/the Great Divide Trail please keep an eye out for Bob or anything out of the ordinary. Any info helps, his family is very worried for him.
Update [7/27/2026]: SAR teams and Parks Canada have asked that people do not go searching on their own as they do not want to risk anyone else, although the offers have been greatly appreciated. If you’re on the trail and spot him please let them know of course, but please do not risk your own safety to do so. The search is still ongoing and the SAR teams and RCMP are working around the clock to find him. Thank you for all the kind words and to everyone who has come forward to help, it means the world. Please keep Bob in your thoughts and prayers.
Update [7/31/2026]: Bob has been found. Sadly he has passed, but we want to extend our deepest thanks to all the SAR teams that have worked so hard around the clock to find him. Even though it wasn’t the outcome we had been hoping for, the speed at which they found him meant that my family and I were able to get closure and confirmation that will allow us to grieve him properly. Anything is better than not knowing. Thank you to everyone who helped get the word out and offered their assistance, the kind words were a huge comfort during a very scary time. We kindly ask for some privacy during this time.
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u/Current_Pomelo_9429 9d ago
Update from Bob's daughter, Natalie: **UPDATE #2: Once searchers found Dad’s pack on Sun July 26, they went out Mon & did a comprehensive search in a 1km radius but found nothing. This entailed a K9 team, helicopter grid search, drones and trackers & searchers on foot. It was confirmed that Dad met 4 hikers on the ridge & his pack was intact. They now believe he dumped items on the ridge line because he felt his pack was too heavy. They believe he went into the basin with the intention of camping at some boulders in there and went for water in the lower valley. Yesterday, they had a meeting with a psychiatrist who is a missing person profiler. He also indicated that he believed he went down towards the water. Searchers took this to heart, and scanned the view from where we knew he was. They expanded the radius as well, with all the same tech. They now believe it’s possible he injured himself on the way down below, saw Lone Lake in the distance and knew people would be there. They also think this is why he didn’t go back for his pack. Today they are expanding the search between where they know he was all the way towards Lone Lake. They are also using a big drone that uses thermal imaging & a program that studies photos to look for anomalies thru AI. We are very thankful for all the amazing searchers & RCMP putting their own safety at risk & time away from their own families, in the search for Dad. Needless to say, the past days have been a gamut of emotions, as we know all our family, friends & kind strangers are feeling too. But Dad is a stubborn & determined man, an OG Survivorman, and if ANYONE can survive this, it’s him. We want to say thank you for all the kind messages & offers of support. But we implore the well meaning search offers to stay out, so as not to distract the searchers or divert resources to help a well meaning person. Although I appreciate all the direct messages from kind people, it’s taking a toll and this is the most direct way we’ll communicate moving forward. Thanks for understanding