TUESDAY EVENING UPDATE, 8:25 PM:
Saanich police have located a missing international student they were searching for since last Thursday.
Roberto Coronado, 25, was found late Tuesday evening at a trailer park on the Malahat. He was in the company of another man.
He was taken to the hospital, as police had concerns for his medical wellbeing, but police wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of their concerns.
He has since been reunited with his family, who flew to Victoria from the Philippines earlier in the week.
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An international student is missing, and Saanich police and the young man’s family are concerned about his last-known activities.
Roberto Coronado was last in touch with family on Feb. 6 via text message.
Coronado, a resident of the Philippines, was believed by his family to be living in Saanich and studying at a local post-secondary institution.
But when police were contacted on Feb. 7 by extended family in Washington State, who said Coronado’s lack of communication was out of character, detectives found the man’s story didn’t check out.
Upon speaking with the landlord at the Cedar Hill-area home where Coronado was supposed to be living, police were told he moved out in late November. And then school administrators told police Coronado wasn’t a registered student.
“It’s all a bit of a mystery,” Sgt. Dean Jantzen said.
Police are unsure where Coronado went after moving in late November.
A significant amount of money was taken out of his bank account in early December, and there has been no more activity since. Jantzen said the cellphone Coronado was using up until Feb. 6 to contact family is no longer operational.
On Monday Jantzen said Coronado’s credit card was last used on Vancouver Island on Feb. 9, but wouldn’t provide further details.
“Our investigators got a couple of leads over the weekend. We’re looking to find someone who he’s with in the Island here,” he said. “But we also know he’s spent time in the United States recently, and our investigators are working with (Department of) Homeland Security investigators to determine when he may have crossed.”
Coronado’s family is expected to arrive in Victoria from the Philippines on Tuesday to help look for him.
“We honestly don’t know when he was last seen. We’re hoping to narrow it down. If anyone’s seen him, we need to know,” Jantzen said.
He says police are looking to speak with anyone who was in contact with Coronado at any point in February.
Anyone with information on Coronado is urged to call Saanich police at 250-475-4321.
kslavin@saanichnews.com
