There’s no trace of him.
Crawford Bay high school teacher Alvin Dunic has been missing since Monday, and though his unlocked car was found right away there hasn’t been any additional evidence found since.
“It’s such a mix of feelings. Even some of the silver linings have a dark side,” Dunic’s wife Teeka Ferguson told the Star.
“They say there’s no trace, which is good because there’s no sign of animal attack or struggle, no sign he fell into the creek. But what does that mean? Did he go down the trail at all? We have to ask all those questions.”
And she’s been amazed by the work being done by the RCMP and search and rescue teams. She’s been put up in a hotel nearby with her daughters, gets hand-delivered meals from Yasodhara Ashram nearby, and is receiving a constant deluge of support from her friends and family.
“They told the community meeting that they have hope, they believe they’ll find him. They think he’s injured or wandering, and that he’ll be found because he’s a youngish man and fit,” she said.
“I’ve been at ground zero, because my hotel room is right there, so I’m talking to search and rescue all the time. They’ve given us our own meeting room with a command centre where we can communicate with other family members,” she said.
“That’s what we do all day.”
Community members have visited the family with art supplies, there are two counsellors staying with the family, and now people are coming forward to join in the search. (See related story here.)
“All day long we’ve been getting messages of love and support, and prayers from people I know as well as people I don’t know. I can’t tell you how much it makes us feel like we’re surrounded and cared for.”
She’s holding on to hope.
“When there’s hundreds and hundreds of people focusing love and prayers on him, how could he not feel that? I’m hoping that gives him the strength for whatever’s going on with him.”
Ferguson said her husband moved to Crawford Bay when he was 23, ultimately working as a teacher there for over 30 years. During that time he built long-lasting relationships. He now lives in Nelson and commutes to his job in Crawford Bay.
“In Nelson he’s not known the way he’s known in Crawford Bay. He was such an active community member, always giving up his own time, and people love him,” she said.
“On the East Shore there probably isn’t a single life he hasn’t touched.”