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The Nova Scotia RCMP have identified the Australian woman who went missing while visiting Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
Denise Ann Williams, 62, is believed to have gone hiking in the park. She has not been heard from since April 15, her family say.
Police said Williams, who is from the state of Victoria in southeastern Australia, had indicated she was travelling to Chéticamp, N.S. Police received a report about her disappearance on April 28.
Her rental vehicle, a Nissan Sentra, was found at the Parks Canada Visitor Centre parking lot in Chéticamp, close to the Acadian trailhead.
Police described Williams as five feet four inches tall, with greyish blonde shoulder-length hair. Police said she was believed to be wearing a dark winter jacket, a powder blue tuque with “Antarctica” written on it, an orange and blue scarf and glasses.
The Acadian trail is an 8.4-kilometre loop rated as “moderate” difficulty, according to the Parks Canada website.
“This is very difficult terrain in Nova Scotia … We have very mountainous terrain here. There are a couple of trails here. There’s a lot of water here and there’s actually still snow up here in the Highlands and in some areas that makes it a bit of a challenge to search,” Chris Bellmore, president of Chéticamp Search and Rescue, told CBC News on Thursday.
Department of Natural Resources helicopters, the RCMP police dog service, multiple ground search and rescue teams, Parks Canada are among the agencies involved with the search.
According to reporting from The Guardian newspaper in Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to Williams’s family.
Anyone who may have encountered Williams in or around the Cape Breton Highlands National Parks is asked to contact the Inverness County District RCMP directly at 902-258-2213. Anonymous information can be shared with Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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