FORT ASSINIBOINE— Relatives of two hunters missing in northern Alberta since 2004 may be a big step closer to getting closure after their car was recovered from the Athabasca River late last week.
David Pushor and Brian Nadeau were hunting in the Fort Assiniboine area in the fall of 2004 when they disappeared without a trace.
They were last seen driving around the area in a silver 1982 Honda Civic wagon after drinking with friends.
Police have not said whether the bodies of the two men have been recovered. But RCMP said there’s no evidence of foul play and the case is still being treated as a missing persons file.
Since late 20004, cops have searched the area extensively with divers, boats with sonars and grappling hooks, coming up empty-handed. But a new method of searching provided police with a way to explore the murky, fast-moving river.
“If it wasn’t for the fact that we have this new technology, this new side-scan sonar, it’s hard to say if that vehicle would have ever been found,” said RCMP Corp. Wayne Oakes.
He described the recovery of the car as a huge break in the investigation.
“Because the water is so murky, the only way the divers would have been able to do a real thorough search of that area would have been to physically search it by feel, by touch,” he said,
Over the years, family and friends have contacted police after allegedly spotting Pushor in and around the Edmonton area.
“It would be nice if they could ever find them,” said Pushor’s cousin, Edith.
“Some people think that they might still be alive, but I kind of don’t think so because why would the car be there? ”