Manitoba_Rancher
Well-known member
EBB AND FLOW FIRST NATION -- Friends of a missing cattle rancher combed ditches and looked under bridges along two highways in central Manitoba yesterday as their hopes of finding him alive faded.
Mounties are treating Grant Moffat's disappearance as suspicious, but those close to him fear foul play is involved because he has been missing for two weeks.
"It's not like him to vanish. I think we've come to realize what the outcome is going to be," said Kerri Hinsburg, whose pasture is next to Moffat's farm. "He's a really good friend, and we owe it to him to bring him home."
Moffat, a 55-year-old Forrest resident, was last seen Aug. 18 when he bought a fishing licence in Ste. Rose du Lac. He was on his way to Amaranth to visit friends and go fishing.
Police said his burned-out 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt was found two days later near Crane River, about 60 km northwest of Ste. Rose. Cops scoured the area but did not find him.
FOUND NOTHING
Hinsburg and her husband, Ken, were among about 100 volunteers who searched for hours yesterday along Highway 68 and Provincial Road 278. It's the route they think Moffat would have taken from Ste. Rose to Amaranth.
People walked through the bush and along creeks, checked out vacant yards and looked in garbage dumps but found nothing of significance.
"This is something that had to be done. I think we just want to find something to get it over with," said Carman Jackson, an Inglis resident who searched on horseback.
Volunteers were primarily Moffat's cattle- industry friends from across Manitoba. A team of Ebb and Flow First Nation residents and RCMP helped out.
"This says he's extremely well-liked and respected, and there are a lot of people worried about him," Kerri Hinsburg said.
Ken Hinsburg has known Moffat for 25 years. He organized the ground search Tuesday night.
"We got tired of waiting, of nothing happening," he said while sitting atop an all-terrain vehicle. "If he was alive he would have tried to reach us."
RCMP Sgt. Bob Chabot said investigators don't have reason to believe Moffat is the victim of foul play.
"If anybody comes to that assumption or conclusion they're doing it all on their own," Chabot said.
He said Mounties are planning additional searches, but finding clues is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
"It's a very large area, and that creates a huge challenge for us," Chabot said.
The Hinsburgs are becoming frustrated with the RCMP's search efforts.
Ken Hinsburg said he was told a search planned for Tuesday was called off due to a lack of manpower.
He said he had offered to organize a group of volunteers to help police in any searches.
Chabot said he's unaware of an RCMP search that was supposed to happen Tuesday.
Concerns about Moffat's well-being arose when he failed to attend a cattle show two weekends ago in Dryden, Ont. RCMP became involved Saturday.
Moffat, a freelance writer and photographer for agriculture publications, lived alone on his farm north of Brandon. He never married and has no children, friends said.
His few relatives in Manitoba include his mother in Brandon and an aunt, friends said.
Anyone with information about Moffat's whereabouts is asked to contact their local police detachment or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS
Mounties are treating Grant Moffat's disappearance as suspicious, but those close to him fear foul play is involved because he has been missing for two weeks.
"It's not like him to vanish. I think we've come to realize what the outcome is going to be," said Kerri Hinsburg, whose pasture is next to Moffat's farm. "He's a really good friend, and we owe it to him to bring him home."
Moffat, a 55-year-old Forrest resident, was last seen Aug. 18 when he bought a fishing licence in Ste. Rose du Lac. He was on his way to Amaranth to visit friends and go fishing.
Police said his burned-out 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt was found two days later near Crane River, about 60 km northwest of Ste. Rose. Cops scoured the area but did not find him.
FOUND NOTHING
Hinsburg and her husband, Ken, were among about 100 volunteers who searched for hours yesterday along Highway 68 and Provincial Road 278. It's the route they think Moffat would have taken from Ste. Rose to Amaranth.
People walked through the bush and along creeks, checked out vacant yards and looked in garbage dumps but found nothing of significance.
"This is something that had to be done. I think we just want to find something to get it over with," said Carman Jackson, an Inglis resident who searched on horseback.
Volunteers were primarily Moffat's cattle- industry friends from across Manitoba. A team of Ebb and Flow First Nation residents and RCMP helped out.
"This says he's extremely well-liked and respected, and there are a lot of people worried about him," Kerri Hinsburg said.
Ken Hinsburg has known Moffat for 25 years. He organized the ground search Tuesday night.
"We got tired of waiting, of nothing happening," he said while sitting atop an all-terrain vehicle. "If he was alive he would have tried to reach us."
RCMP Sgt. Bob Chabot said investigators don't have reason to believe Moffat is the victim of foul play.
"If anybody comes to that assumption or conclusion they're doing it all on their own," Chabot said.
He said Mounties are planning additional searches, but finding clues is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
"It's a very large area, and that creates a huge challenge for us," Chabot said.
The Hinsburgs are becoming frustrated with the RCMP's search efforts.
Ken Hinsburg said he was told a search planned for Tuesday was called off due to a lack of manpower.
He said he had offered to organize a group of volunteers to help police in any searches.
Chabot said he's unaware of an RCMP search that was supposed to happen Tuesday.
Concerns about Moffat's well-being arose when he failed to attend a cattle show two weekends ago in Dryden, Ont. RCMP became involved Saturday.
Moffat, a freelance writer and photographer for agriculture publications, lived alone on his farm north of Brandon. He never married and has no children, friends said.
His few relatives in Manitoba include his mother in Brandon and an aunt, friends said.
Anyone with information about Moffat's whereabouts is asked to contact their local police detachment or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS
