Australian tourist missing in K-Country

Kevin Kennedy, a 59 year old man from Australia, was reported missing late in the afternoon on August 21 after he didn’t return from a hike in Kananaskis Country.  The man went missing while on a hike over Grizzly Col; he was ultimately hoping to complete the Tyrwhitt Loop.

When emergency services got the call concerning the missing hiker, an immediate search of the area began.  Because of the lateness in the day, the search was limited and did not find any signs of the missing man.  On Monday, ground teams and a helicopter search team was used to search for Kennedy.  High winds on Monday hampered the rescuers on the helicopter.  Again, on Monday, there were no signs detected of the missing man.

On Tuesday and Wednesday up to 30 searchers joined in the effort to find Kennedy.  Searchers used a helicopter again to look for the man.  RCMP, Public Safety, Conservation Officers, Trail crew and volunteers from Foothills, Cochrane and Elkford B.C., Search and Rescue Teams all joined in the search to look for Kennedy.  They found no indications of the missing Aussie.

Ground searches are planned for Thursday, August 25.  Search teams are not sure if Kennedy was even on the Tyrwhitt trail as they can find no indications of him traveling on the loop trail.

Police are hoping that anyone hiking in the Highwood Pass area of Kananaskis on Sunday August 21, who may have seen Kennedy will call Kananaskis RCMP at 403 591 7707.  Police are trying to figure out where Kennedy may have been on Sunday afternoon.

Kennedy is described as a Caucasian man, 6′ tall and weighs about 170 pounds.  He has a thick Australian accent, wears glasses and was last seen wearing a light blue shirt, khaki shorts, brown/orange fleece, dark coloured hat and blue backpack.  He was carrying a navy blue rain coat.

Category: Alberta