A vigil will be held Saturday morning for a missing person last heard from 41 days ago on the way to old-growth logging protests in Fairy Creek.
Bear Henry, a 37-year-old Indigenous person, was last heard from by friends while in Lake Cowichan on the way to Fairy Creek. Henry’s van, a distinctive 1980 brown/beige two-tone Dodge camper van with phrases such as “Land Back” written in paint was last seen at Gordon River Main Forest Service Road near the Honeymoon Bay Ecological Centre. The van’s B.C. licence plate is NB2 06H.
Shae Perkins was one of the last people to hear from Henry, who is two-spirit and uses gender neutral pronouns. On. Nov. 27 around 7:30 a.m., Henry sent a message saying they had parked overnight in Lake Cowichan and were about to head out of town to the logging roads. Perkins said he can see that his response, sent two hours later, has not been read.
Henry was planning to spend a week or two in the Fairy Creek area, where there is no cellphone service, so Perkins didn’t worry at first. But when two weeks passed with no contact from Henry, he became concerned. Henry was reported missing on Dec. 11.
“I really miss them. They’re a really amazing person and they mean a lot to me,” said Perkins, who met Henry while they were both doing outreach work when the pandemic first hit and shelters closed down.
Henry has been deeply involved in volunteer work in the community, helping to deliver meals and supporting a community care tent set up last winter to support people who were homeless, he said.
“If I needed a ride in a crisis emergency at three in the morning, I could always call them. They would drop everything,” Perkins said.
Henry’s aunt, Rose Henry, is holding a vigil Saturday morning around 10 a.m. in Beacon Hill Park near the petting zoo to gather friends and family. She hopes people will share memories to remind each other how important it is to find Henry.
Henry, from the Penelakut First Nation, “is joining that growing list of missing and murdered Indigenous people,” she said.
Henry’s disappearance remains an open investigation with Lake Cowichan RCMP and tips continue to come in, said Cpl. Chris Manseau.
Officers on patrol on foot and a helicopter during Fairy Creek protests were also keeping an eye out for Henry, he said.
Henry is described as six feet three inches tall and approximately 300 pounds, with a heavy build, short brown hair and green eyes. Anyone who sees Henry should contact Lake Cowichan RCMP at 250-749-6668.
Henry is the second person to go missing in the Fairy Creek area.
Gerald Kearney, 61, was last seen on Oct. 13 when he left a camp and was intending to hike through forest to another camp.
