A massive search is underway to locate a 25-year-old man who became separated from his hiking partner and vanished in the Vancouver Island backcountry. Search and rescue volunteers from across southwestern B.C. are descending on an area of Strathcona Park known as Paradise Meadows. Keshav Jindal was last seen in the area on Aug. 3 as he and a friend were preparing to hike to the top of Mount Albert Edward, a 2,100-metre peak known for its distinct shark-fin profile. The pair became separated on the way up, and when Jindal did not return to the parking lot that evening, the search was launched. “Right now, we have four different ground teams that are operational,” said Paul Berry, manager with Comox Valley Search and Rescue, on Tuesday. Those local search teams from across the island were aided by a fifth team on Wednesday as members of Lions Bay Search and Rescue, north of Vancouver, provided mutual aid. “We have two helicopters operating, conducting air search and inserting teams, and we have canine teams on the ground,” Berry added. The Vancouver Island District RCMP says Jindal’s family is concerned for his well-being. Police described the missing hiker as standing 5’7” tall and weighing 153 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes, according to investigators. Searchers say Jindal was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, a black fleece jacket and a grey Nike backpack. “It’s so easy to get turned around and lose your orientation,” said Maureen Williams, a fellow hiker who was in the search area Tuesday. “There’s lots of cairns that seem to go nowhere, and little footpaths that seem to go nowhere. It’s not perfectly well-marked once you’re up there.” Authorities say Jindal was not equipped for an overnight stay in the outdoors. He was carrying a cellphone but searchers reported it had a low battery even before the friends became separated. BC Parks says on its website that easy access to the Mount Albert Edward trailhead “perhaps lulls hikers into complacency” before “serious hazards” present themselves along the route. “It is no surprise that this is the second-busiest hike for search and rescue on Vancouver Island,” the parks agency says. Anyone who spots the hiker is asked to call 911 and provide his location, direction of travel and any other details immediately.
