There’s growing concern for the well-being of an 89-year-old man from rural Nova Scotia who hasn’t been seen in over two days.
Martin McLearn was last seen at his home in South Rawdon, N.S. - located roughly 60 kilometres northwest of Halifax - around noon Sunday.
"Right now we have 35 people out in the field conducting ground search or roadside searches, and basically looking for Mr. McLearn," says Cpl. Mike Carter of Nova Scotia RCMP.
Search and rescue crews, police officers, tracking dogs, and a helicopter are all assisting in the search, with more than 100 people involved in the effort.
Police say McLearn has hearing and vision issues, walks with a limp and was not operating vehicles. He also has dementia.
"He's not a man who's on any medication, he's not a diabetic, he's nothing of that nature that requires a shot or a pill to sustain him," says Tony Rogers of Halifax Regional Police Search and Rescue.
Rogers says one of the complications has been the density of the trees.
“To look down through it is very difficult, and the same even in the clear-cuts where the trees have been knocked down. The brush and everything has grown up so thick," Rogers says.
CTV News was told McLearn was supposed to soon receive a radio tracking system called Project Lifesaver.
“Where there's a lot of trees, where we have a lot of canopy cover for trees and stuff like that, where we sometimes lose our satellites, we still have that technology available to use," says Judy Burke of Hants County Search and Rescue.
There has so far been no trace of McLearn. He is described as five-foot-six, 150 to 160 pounds, with white hair and blue eyes. He wears glasses and was last seen wearing rubber boots, dark workpants, and possibly a tan overcoat and cap.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the RCMP.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ron Shaw.
