6 years after Michael Gazetas went missing, his family isn’t giving up hope

It has been six years since a man went missing after leaving his Courtenay, B.C., home in 2020.

Michael Gazetas was last seen on Jan. 31 of that year.

The 51-year-old had left his red 2011 Ford Ranger pickup truck and gone into the backcountry as he was known to do.

His truck was last spotted in the Gold River area, about 140 km away, but Comox Valley RCMP said that despite extensive searches at the time and ongoing efforts, neither Gazetas nor his truck have been located.

RCMP said with many new residents who might be out exploring Vancouver Island’s backcountry, including hikers, hunters, campers, photographers and mushroom pickers, police are asking people to keep a lookout, especially in Northern Vancouver Island.

“It remains possible that Michael’s vehicle may be in a location not visible from the road or in terrain that is difficult to reach,” RCMP said in a release posted online.

“Natural changes in the landscape over time — including erosion, fallen trees, and shifting vegetation — may reveal areas that were previously obscured.”

Gazetas’ sisters, Calliope and Sophie, have not given up on finding their brother.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.

“It would be really nice to know this in my lifetime, what happened to our brother,” Calliope Gazetas said.

“But you know, the main concrete thing we know is he left and he didn’t come back. Some days I can sit with that and be OK with that and some days I just really want to know what happened.”

Sophie Peerless said the anniversary of their brothers’ disappearance is always a challenging time.

“I think every January is always a little difficult, just to have that yearly reminder that this is when our brother disappeared and we still don’t know what happened to him,” she said.

Anyone who sees a red Ford Ranger with licence plate HX4109, or has information related to the disappearance of Michael Gazetas is asked to call the Comox Valley RCMP at (250) 338-1321 and refer to file 2020-1779.