Search for missing Merritt cowboy suspended
Posted February 3, 2019 12:45 pm.
Last Updated February 3, 2019 6:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MERRITT (NEWS 1130) – A ranch manager in Merritt has been missing for over a week, but now the search for him has been suspended.
32-year-old Ben Tyner set out from Nicola Ranch on Jan. 26. He is considered an experienced horse rider and rancher, but had only been hired on at Nicola Ranch in November of 2018.
Mounties say they have stopped the search and rescue after covering the area where the horse was found on Jan. 28, and because of poor weather conditions.
“Extreme cold and snow on Sunday hindered search efforts somewhat but volunteers continued to search drainage areas and steep terrain with no results,” reads a release from Merritt RCMP.
They say the large-scale search included more than 19 teams from across the province, including dog tracking, air support, drones, horseback riders and volunteers from the community who covered larges areas of North Merritt.
RCMP said earlier this week that other ranchers believe Tyner rode to an area known as Swakum Ridge, northwest of Merritt, and may have been searching for stray cattle belonging to the ranch.
Kim Robinson, who is a tracker from the area, says he found Tyner’s horse at around 5:30 the morning of Jan. 28.
Robinson says the gelding was “a little bit jumpy” and one of its reins was broken.
“The horse was dressed up nice. It had a good saddle and stuff on it. It was somebody who was riding it who knew about horses and knew about riding.”
Tyner is described as six-foot-three, 240 pounds, with dark hair and a beard.
Family members have set up a Go Fund Me page to keep the search on.
They say the donations will go towards sustaining the search for as long as possible. Merritt RCMP are asking anyone with information to contact them or Crime Stoppers.
