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Officials call off search for Courtenay man missing more than a week

Search-and-rescue officials have called off the formal search for a Courtenay man missing for more than a week due to a lack of new clues. Michael Gazetas, 51, was reported missing by his wife on Jan. 31.
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Michael Gazetas, 51, was last seen on Jan. 31, 2020, in Courtenay.

Search-and-rescue officials have called off the formal search for a Courtenay man missing for more than a week due to a lack of new clues.

Michael Gazetas, 51, was reported missing by his wife on Jan. 31. Hundreds of people spent days scouring Vancouver Island from Victoria to Cape Scott, looking for Gazetas, before search-and-rescue teams joined in on Saturday.

Video surveillance footage from a maintenance shop on Highway 28, just west of Campbell River, showed Gazetas’ red Ford Ranger travelling westbound, said Campbell River search-and-rescue manager Tim Strange.

This information led between 40 to 60 searchers to comb the highway and all secondary roads leading off the highway between Campbell River and Gold River.

“The type of road searching that was done was a very slow, methodical search of any areas that had the potential for a vehicle to leave the road, such as sharp curves, steep embankments, bridges,” Strange said.

Volunteer pilots in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters also pitched in, flying at low altitudes looking for anything that might lead them to Gazetas or his truck.

“Nothing has been found,” Strange said. “The search has been temporarily suspended until new information comes forward.”

Search volunteers have faced tough conditions, with washouts and landslides on the roads due to the weather, Strange said, adding that the snow may be covering clues that could help piece together what happened to Gazetas.

A location scout for film and television, Gazetas is familiar with Vancouver Island, Strange said.

Gazetas is believed to be travelling in a red Ford Ranger with the B.C. licence plate HX4 109.

Strange said anyone who sees his truck or anything suspicious that could indicate a vehicle may have left the road, such as damaged vegetation, should call police.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Comox Valley RCMP at 250-338-1321. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).