Police have confirmed Jarrett Shane Whitford, a 31-year-old Alberta man, was in Hope on Sept. 19 and are appealing to the public to help locate him.
On Oct. 22 police stated that Whitford, 31, is believed to have been in the Hope area on Sept. 19. Sgt. Mike Sargent with the Upper Fraser Valley RCMP confirmed that police have gotten ahold of video that shows Whitford getting gas in Hope, yet where he might have been traveling to is still unclear.
“We’ve made inquiries through various police databases but haven’t been able to pinpoint any of that information, as far as any other interactions with police or reports of him or his vehicle,” Sargent said.
While the Edmonton Police Service have a file for Whitford’s disappearance, Hope RCMP are now taking the lead on the file from the B.C. side. The reason why this information was released Oct. 22, Sargent said, is that police had to confirm the information and had to deal with some video not being available due to the month-long time lag between his appearance in Hope and when Hope RCMP got the request.
From what family have told police, Whitford may be in this area of B.C. in search of work. He has worked a hydrovac truck previously, out of Nisku, Alberta.
Police are asking the public to ‘remain watchful’ for Whitford. He is described as a caucasian male, 183 centimetres tall (6 feet), weighing 86 kilograms (189 pounds) with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Whitford drives a 2015 Nissan Micra with Alberta license plate BPF3152.
Speaking with the Hope Standard on Oct. 9, Whitford’s sister Jodie Fedun said the family was growing desperate as they had virtually no information about their missing loved one save for his bank card used to make a food purchase in Hope in mid-September.
“It seems like no matter where we’re going, we’re hitting so many dead ends, if it’s the privacy act or no information at all…We’re just lost, we don’t know what else to do,” Fedun said.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Hope RCMP at 604-869-7750 or, to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:emelie.peacock@hopestandard.com
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