Search near Pemberton for missing Lil’wat Nation men paused

PEMBERTON (NEWS 1130) – An almost week long search for two men from the Lil’wat Nation is being paused for three days.

The two men, 48-year-old Peter Oleski and his son, 21-year-old River Leo, were last seen north of Pemberton on Thursday, when they went mushroom picking.

They haven’t been heard from since.

Search and rescue crews from across the province, Mounties, and tribal police have all been involved in the extensive search for the pair, but so far, crews have only found the pick-up truck the men were driving.

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“The Lílwat Nation would like to thank Pemberton Search and Rescue and all the Search and Rescue crews from across the Province who have helped us in our search for Peter and River,” a Facebook post from the Nation reads.

Crews are expected to continue their search on Saturday.

“We are anticipating 150-200 SAR volunteers from across the province on Saturday, along with the full resources available from the Province of BC,” the Lil’wat Nation’s post continues. “In the meantime, we know that our dedicated community volunteers will continue the search.”

Weather has been an issue for those on the ground, with concern mounting for Oleski and Leo’s wellbeing. The Lil’wat Nation says a warming trend is expected over the coming days.

“This will likely melt snow and has the potential to expose new evidence,” the Facebook post reads, asking people to not disturb anything they may find and to instead flag and report it to the Stl’atl’imx Tribal Police.