A spokeswoman for the family of Ben Kilmer, who went missing on May 16, said on June 29 the search goes on for the 41-year-old family man.
Shannon Wiest said the RCMP are expected to make a statement in the case in the coming days.
“The family has nothing new to add right now,” she said.
“There are no plans to continue the organized search this weekend,” she said before the Canada Day weekend, “but we intend to saturate Vancouver Island with posters with Ben’s face on them and with information on his disappearance. It continues to be a very difficult time for the family.”
RCMP Cpl. Tammy Douglas said there is no new information on the case at this time.
She said the police do plan to make a statement on the disappearance sometime this week, but it will be intended just to keep people informed of the current state of the investigation, and to encourage people to keep looking for Kilmer and provide any information they may have in the case.
“But there is no new or updated information right now that will be provided in the statement,” Douglas said.
RELATED STORY: NO NEW LEADS IN KILMER DISAPPEARANCE
Kilmer’s work van was found parked along Cowichan Lake Road, west of Menzies Road, on the morning of May 16.
The electrician’s vehicle was empty but the engine was still running.
Blood was later found in the vehicle and in a treed area nearby.
Despite extensive searches of the area since then, combined with a flyer campaign that has seen tens of thousands of flyers plastered all over the mid-Island region asking for any information on Kilmer’s disappearance, there’s still no known concrete leads to date as to what has happened to him.
There was some unsubstantiated speculation that Kilmer’s disappearance may have been connected to the disappearance of Dan Archbald, 37, and Ryan Daley, 43, who were last seen leaving the Ucluelet Small Craft Harbour on the same day Kilmer went missing.
Authorities confirmed on June 28 that remains found near Ucluelet a few weeks ago are the bodies of Archbald and Daley, and that the case is being considered as a double homicide.
“At this point, there is no evidence linking the cases of Dan and Ryan with Ben’s disappearance,” Weist said.
“However, we empathize with these two families who have endured the shared agony of losing their loved ones on the same day that Ben went missing. With heavy hearts, we offer our sincere condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of Dan and Ryan.”
Kilmer is described as five-foot-10 and 180 pounds, with short brown hair and blue eyes.
When last seen, he was clean-shaven and wearing light-coloured pants, a black shirt and steel-toed work boots.
If you have any information on the whereabouts of Benjamin Kilmer, contact the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP at 250-748-5522, or if you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
