Rescue crews search for a missing three-year-old boy near the Salmon River, in Truro, N.S., on May 7, 2020.Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press
The search continued in Truro, N.S., Friday for a missing three-year-old boy, although the operation is now a recovery effort as it enters its third day.
The search for Dylan Ehler began Wednesday afternoon and involved police and fire services, search and rescue crews and provincial emergency management staff.
Speaking with reporters Friday, Truro police Chief Dave MacNeil said efforts were continuing to focus on the Salmon River, which runs through the town, and further out into Cobequid Bay at the head of the Bay of Fundy.
“We have expanded the search zone further down the Salmon River toward Cobequid Bay,” said MacNeil. “The helicopters are around the bay … and we will continue to fly that pattern back and forth on the river system.”
MacNeil said the search would continue until “we’ve exhausted every avenue that we have available.”
The boy’s disappearance is the latest bad news to hit the central Nova Scotia city, following the April 18-19 mass shooting that killed people in nearby towns and the Canadian Forces helicopter crash off Greece last week that claimed the life of a Truro native.
“We have suffered a lot of tragedy in the last few weeks, and it’s a strong community, and we are all rallying around to get through this,” MacNeil said.
Earlier, police said a command post had been moved from the Salmon River, where search efforts were focused on Thursday, and was now operating from the town’s police station.
In a Facebook post, police also said their “sincere thoughts and prayers” are with Dylan’s family and they expressed appreciation for the continued support from the community and beyond.
The boy disappeared while playing outside his grandmother’s house in the central Nova Scotia town.
Searchers recovered the rubber boots Dylan had been wearing on Wednesday in Lepper Brook near the Salmon River, but police say they haven’t found any new clues or information since.
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