There was an emotional plea from the son of a missing pilot in southern British Columbia today.
Canadian officials have called in more than a dozen planes and scores of volunteers to scour the woods near Kamloops -- which is about a three hour drive northeast of Vancouver -- in search of 61-year-old Ron Boychuk. He hasn't been seen since Tuesday.
Chris Boychuk is still holding out hope six days after his dad took off in his single-engine Cessna in Springbank, Alta. On Sunday, he asked the public to report any information about a plane struggling or flying low in the Kamloops area last week.
"Anything anyone can do," he said.
"Any hunters -- my dad's a hunter. You guys know what it's like. It's a small group and one of your fellows is missing."
The Nanaimo resident is also a retired biologist.
After leaving Alberta, Boychuk refueled in Revelstoke, B.C. He was scheduled to stop in Salmon Arm, B.C., before finishing his flight at Qualicum Bay on Vancouver Island.
When he didn't arrive his son reported him overdue on Tuesday evening. His last known position was about 150 kilometres west of Salmon Arm, suggesting that he may have skipped the scheduled stopover and continued on towards Vancouver Island.
Nine Canadian Forces aircraft and 12 civilian planes are now involved in the aerial search for Boychuk, along with 47 volunteers.
But the search area is massive.
"It goes all the way into Chilliwack, up and through basically Whistler, Squamish, all the way to Qualicum," said Capt. Sean Morris of 19 Wing Comox, which is coordinating search efforts.
"Every day we seem to be covering six thousand square miles."
Boychuk was carrying survival gear and had extra fuel. His son is asking the public to report any information about a plane that may have been struggling or flying low last Tuesday.
Chris Boychuk says his father is a survivor.
"He's just spent days in the middle of nowhere hunting and fishing," he said.
"If he's able to get out of that airplane, he'll be O.K."
