The search has resumed for a Roaches Line, N.L., man who went missing as a blizzard intensified in eastern Newfoundland early Friday afternoon.
Bay Roberts RCMP, the Avalon North Wolverines Search and Rescue and a CH149 Cormorant from 9 Wing Gander are all part of the search for 26-year-old Josh Wall, as is an RCMP police dog.
“It is now believed that Joshua may have made it out of the wooded area, where he was walking to get to a friend’s home in Marysvale, and back onto Roaches Line,” an RCMP press release said Sunday. Roaches Line is a village in the area of Conception Bay North.
“Residents in the general area are asked to search their properties, vehicles, sheds and other outbuildings, in the event Joshua sought shelter there.”
I’m with a crew searching for Josh Wall, missing since Friday, in Roaches Line, NL. <a href=”https://t.co/OMQf4wwSig”>pic.twitter.com/OMQf4wwSig</a>
—@KaylaHounsell
Glenda Power, a civilian spokesperson for the RCMP, told CBC Sunday that attempts were made to search for Wall when he was reported missing, but the blizzard conditions hampered those efforts.
Police received information that Wall may have taken side roads and trails, she said. A man was seen on Roaches Line yesterday, she said, but it’s not been confirmed that it was Wall.
The family is “distraught,” Power said, and concerned for Wall’s safety.
Anyone who has information is asked to call Bay Roberts RCMP at 709-786-2118.
‘I’m frantic’
Darkness halted the search for Wall Saturday evening.
“I’m frantic this morning,” his mother, Nora Wall, told CBC’s Terry Roberts on Sunday.
Her son has not been heard from since 1 p.m. on Friday, just as the storm was intensifying.
Josh went into the woods around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, with plans to walk along a backcountry trail from his family’s home on Roaches Line to visit a friend in another Conception Bay community, Marysvale.
His parents said Josh has “health issues” and is prone to panic attacks.
He messaged his location in the wilderness to his friend in Marysvale around 1 p.m. on Friday, along with a message saying he was lost and that his phone’s battery was low on power, said Wayne Wall, Josh’s father.
Wayne said his son was in pain Friday morning and wanted to go to the hospital, but the storm prevented them from travelling.
Josh later told his parents he was going to visit a friend in Marysvale, and decided to leave on foot.
Josh was wearing a heavy winter jacket and a warm hat, mittens and boots. But it’s not believed he was wearing snow pants.
