Search crews from around the Lower Mainland are still scouring Coquitlam’s Burke Mountain for any trace of To Sang “Alfred” Wong, a 65-year-old man who is believed to have been lost in the wilderness since Tuesday.
Police say Wong, who is 5’3″ with a slim build, was last seen leaving his house on Nov. 4 at noon. The next day, his car — a grey Chevrolet Cruz — was located about 10 minutes away by the Coquitlam Lake trailhead.
Not long after search efforts began, heavy rain set in.
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Stu Fleming with Coquitlam Search and Rescue says Burke is a very dangerous mountain to travel in the dark.
“If he went out without proper lights or gear for travelling in the low light, it is November, in the woods, it’s dark by 4:30 or 5,” he said. “The mountain has some areas that are very benign; however, it also has many areas that have cliff faces, drop-offs, and creeks.”
The challenges posed by the terrain have forced the deployment of a significant amount of resources, including a helicopter.
“We’ve got drone operators from the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, drone operators from North Shore Rescue, we’ve had a dog team out.”
Search and rescue teams set up a command post in the parking lot of a nearby shooting range, where wet and muddy searchers returned Saturday empty-handed.
“We have a huge area of the mountain to search, because we’re not exactly sure where he was headed to or which trail he took.”
Search officials say this case underscores the necessity of creating a trip plan before you set off.
“[Let] someone that you trust know exactly where you’re going, what trails, and what time to be expected back,” Fleming said.
“And then while you’re on the mountain, stick to your trip plan. It was basically 24 hours after he got in trouble that we were alerted, so there’s a lot of ground to be covered, because we don’t have a specific destination.”
Search crews say that while the days are getting shorter and the odds are getting longer, they’re still holding out hope.
“Still optimistic, we’ve got people out looking,” Fleming said.
“And we’ll keep going as long as we can.”
Anyone with any information or who may have seen Wong is asked to call the Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550 and refer to file 2025-28682.