A fundraiser has been created to aid the search for 37-year-old Kevin “Bear” Henry. Henry, an Indigenous Coast Salish person of the Penelakut Tribe and a known Fairy Creek advocate, was last heard from on Nov. 27 and last seen in the area of the forest.
The GoFundMe – now sitting at $11,246 as of Dec. 30 – aims to raise a total of $20,000 to help hire private search-and-rescue (SAR) teams, as well as gas, supplies and other costs.
Those close to Henry have also developed publicly available online materials for people who want to know how to become involved in the search efforts.
Coordinators of the search said police have done some searching; however, SAR teams have not been deployed and the purpose of raising the funds is to deploy private search teams themselves.
“It is our understanding that they (police) won’t until there is a confirmed lead to help narrow down the potential search areas,” a FAQ document reads.
Henry was last heard from in Lake Cowichan when they were on their way to Port Renfrew in their 1980 Dodge Royal camper van, with BC licence plate NB2 06H.
They pulled over for the night behind a local Lordco and in the last message their family received from Henry, they said someone was knocking on their van – they were afraid they were being stalked, the GoFundMe page reads.
Henry was reported missing to the Victoria Police Department on Dec. 11 and investigators later said in a Dec. 15 release that Henry may have travelled to the Fairy Creek area.
They are described as 6’3” weighing approximately 300 pounds. They have short brown hair and green eyes and are known to wear skirts and leggings.
Henry’s van is brown and beige and has distinguishing features such as phrases like “Land Back” in black spray paint.
To donate to the search effort visit the Bring Bear Home! GoFundMe page.
Email bringbearhome2021@gmail.com wherein public documents will become available in an automatic response.
Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected to reflect that the family is aiming to hire private search and rescue teams. We apologize for the error and any confusion it may have caused.
ALSO READ: MISSING: Kevin Henry last heard from on Nov. 27
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