A distraught family is appealing for help in finding their loved one who went missing more than two years ago.
On July 14, 2009, 40-year-old Yashpal Mehay left Surrey for his gas station in Clinton and went missing somewhere between the two places.
“It’s very tough,” said an emotional Bhagwant Sandi, Mehay’s brother in law. “It’s hard for everybody – when the phone rings, we think it’s him.”
The family rented a plane to canvas the route Mehay took through the Fraser Canyon and hired a private investigator to help find him.
“We searched every route towards Clinton and found no sign of Yashpal or the van he was driving,” Sandi said Wednesday. “Life has come to a standstill for everyone and we have no answers and no direction to lead.”
Police describe it as a real mystery, as Mehay has none of the characteristics or history typical of a missing persons case.
The RCMP investigation revealed Mehay made a purchase at the Costco in Abbotsford the day he went missing and then a short time later at the Staples in Chilliwack.
“There have been no confirmed sightings of Yashpal after this,” police said. “There have also been no further credit card or banking transactions after the one at Staples.”
Aerial searches, highway patrols, search and rescue, sonar searches and RCMP dive teams have failed to provide any leads to Mehay or his 2004 grey Mazda MPV van (licence plate number 494 KVK).
The family is offering a $35,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts. Anyone who knows anything that could help police find Mehay are asked to call Surrey RCMP’s Missing Person’s Unit at 604-599-0502.
