Police search woods as hunt for Hay River man continues

Police and volunteers searched wooded areas in Hay River on Saturday as efforts to find missing resident David Park continued.

David, also known as Junghwan Park, was last seen on Tuesday. RCMP issued a public appeal for help finding him two days later but, by Saturday, the 34-year-old remained missing.

Police and firefighters, working with volunteers from the community, organized searches of woods and trails near Park’s home on Saturday morning. RCMP thanked residents for helping but, with no breakthrough made, said they would advise of any future searches and urged homeowners to check their property for clues.

“The RCMP is continuing to investigate David’s whereabouts and request that residents and business owners check their properties, including sheds, vehicles, other buildings, etc., for anything suspicious or that may seem out of place,” read a statement released on Saturday evening.

“Motorists are also asked if they observed anyone walking along the highway system in the Hay River area matching David’s description to contact the Hay River RCMP as well.”

Park’s employer, the Rooster convenience store, posted a fresh appeal to its Facebook page late on Friday night, adding more detail about the moments before he disappeared.

“He was last seen on April 3, Tuesday, 9:15am at the Rooster, Hay River,” read the update.

“He left his home at 10:15am and went to the Home Hardware store. He stayed there until 11am.

“He went to the New Beach afterwards. He stayed at the beach for nine minutes and went back home at 11:25 am.”

Park’s hair is now shorter than in the photos shown on this page. A ‘Missing’ poster uploaded to the Rooster’s Facebook page describes him as 5 ft 6 in and 161 lbs.

According to the Rooster’s staff, Park “left everything in his room” including his car keys, wallet, bank cards, passport, clothes, and other forms of ID.

“So there is no way he could leave the town unless somebody took him for a crime,” the Rooster’s post added.

“He is not the type of guy do something bad to himself. He is in the process of waiting for his immigration visa to live in Canada.

“We will reward information leading to his safe return!”

Park had been living in Hay River for the past few months and was reported missing by his co-workers. RCMP have so far conducted searches on foot, by snowmobile, and by air.