Josie Naterer refuses to give up on her son, who went missing in Manning Park on Friday, Oct. 10.
“We know he’s still alive. We know it. We know it. We know it,” she said in an interview with The Spotlight on, Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The official search to locate Jordan Naterer was suspended Saturday, Oct. 17.
Jordan’s family, friends and co-workers are continuing the search, on their own.
Using drones, private helicopters, experienced hikers, and tracker dogs, they are focusing their efforts on the Windy Joe trail area.
More than 150 GSAR volunteers, supported by RCMP and helicopter crews, combed the Frosty Mountain area of Manning Park for five days without finding a trace of the 25-year-old electrical engineer from Vancouver.
Jordan told friends he was going for a solitary, overnight hike, on Thanksgiving weekend. His vehicle was located at the Frosty Mountain trailhead by the Lightning Lake day-use area of Manning Park, after he failed to show up for a dinner party on Monday, Oct. 12.
Related: Family devastated as search for missing Manning Park hiker suspended
Josie said the family was promised that if new information surfaced, the search would be rebooted.
However, items found Friday, Oct. 16 were identified as belonging to her son, and it suggested he was further along on the trail that previously thought, yet no action has been taken.
Josie said she flooded the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) with phone calls for three days, and received one response Tuesday morning indicating the file is being reviewed.
She said the private search would be aided if information from official activities were shared by police “as promised,” but so far that hasn’t happened.
Black Press has reached out to the VPD for comment.
An online petition, established by one of Jordan’s friends and asking for the search to be restarted, had 8,758 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
A gofundme page, set up by Jordan’s sister Julia Naterer, had raised $19,415 in 19 hours, at the same time.
Jordan’s parents flew to B.C. from their home in St. John’s when he was reported missing.
“This is a parent’s worst nightmare,” said Josie. “I am not leaving without my son.”
Related: ‘Please pray for our son,’ says mother of missing hiker
