I can’t see anything in that article that suggests he was dropped off? The only line I see about his method of transportation was that he rode into the backcountry.
CANADA Canada - Ben Tyner, 32, cowboy, his horse returned w/o him, Merritt, British Columbia, 26 Jan 2019
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moonriverfarm
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Catherine Urqhart tweet:
Help find missing cowboy Ben Tyner. His riderless horse has been found near Merritt. Family says someone dropped off Ben and horse in hills. Who? Where? Please come forward @GlobalBC @KamloopsSAR @BCSARAssoc @CFJC_Today @ChilliwackSAR
https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1090497326697730049
Help find missing cowboy Ben Tyner. His riderless horse has been found near Merritt. Family says someone dropped off Ben and horse in hills. Who? Where? Please come forward @GlobalBC @KamloopsSAR @BCSARAssoc @CFJC_Today @ChilliwackSAR
https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1090497326697730049
cybervampira
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It’s in the tweet by BC reporter Catherine Urquhart.
cybervampira
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Horse belonging to missing Merritt cowboy arrived at ranch unscathed
Tammy Straya told Postmedia News that Tyner had brought the horse with him from Wyoming when he took the job as Nicola Ranch’s ranch manager three months ago.
“The horse is good. Nothing attacked the horse; something might have scared it, but there’s no blood, no spur marks, no scratches. It’s his horse, and it’s a gentle horse,” Straya said.
[...]
“We don’t know where he was going. It’s totally out of character for him to leave the ranch without notifying someone. None of this is adding up. It’s a flippin’ mystery,” she said, adding the search was weighing heavily on ranch staff.
“It’s so horrible, none of us have ate or slept. We’re worried sick.”
The weather has been cold and mostly clear around Merritt for the past few days.
Merritt RCMP spokeswoman Tracy Dunsmore told media that Tyner was likely dressed for the weather, but there’s nothing to suggest he brought gear for an overnight stay.
[...]
Tammy Straya told Postmedia News that Tyner had brought the horse with him from Wyoming when he took the job as Nicola Ranch’s ranch manager three months ago.
“The horse is good. Nothing attacked the horse; something might have scared it, but there’s no blood, no spur marks, no scratches. It’s his horse, and it’s a gentle horse,” Straya said.
[...]
“We don’t know where he was going. It’s totally out of character for him to leave the ranch without notifying someone. None of this is adding up. It’s a flippin’ mystery,” she said, adding the search was weighing heavily on ranch staff.
“It’s so horrible, none of us have ate or slept. We’re worried sick.”
The weather has been cold and mostly clear around Merritt for the past few days.
Merritt RCMP spokeswoman Tracy Dunsmore told media that Tyner was likely dressed for the weather, but there’s nothing to suggest he brought gear for an overnight stay.
[...]
I wonder what Ben’s mental state was like before he went missing. Seems a bit like a loner kind of guy, I wonder if there was anyone he confided in?
cybervampira
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+450 Facebook friends, many of them horse owners. Doesn’t seem like the lonesome cowboy type at first glance.
My horse Facebook, which has since become my only Facebook as I don’t care for the site, has like 2000 horsey friends, most of whom I don’t know. I only use it for business so I don’t even add my actual non-horsey friends. And I think the account is sitting on a few dozen friend requests from horsey strangers I don’t even care to go through. I have one friend in common with Ben, some horse guy I’ve never met. Horse people add each other like crazy.
I know they said the horse came back in good shape with no visible injuries but I do wonder if Ben may have encountered a cougar, or what ever other breed of dangerous animal that perhaps lives out there in the hills, and the horse spooked and Ben was attacked.
I am also wondering, since he left on Saturday and the horse returned back to the ranch on Monday, how far away he may have traveled on horse back. I do not think he could have ridden miles upon miles away because I am not too sure if the horse would have made it's way back to the ranch but I do not know much about horses instincts. I have not found much about him nor his mental state but in the interview I saw of him talking about the recently burned down church in Merritt he appears to be rather level headed.
On a positive note and from my experience, and IMO, Cowboys are a rather tough breed with good survival instincts. Still, 4 days later, since he left on Saturday, and no sign of him is very concerning. I hope they locate him and/or he makes his way back to the ranch.
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swanniee11
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Both worked for me.
doodles1211
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His FB page has a post that he was moving far away... that was in November. Appears he may be from WY. Did he just recently move to Canada? Would he be unfamiliar with where he is?
He was from Wyoming which can have brutal winters. He was educated and he had been living at the ranch for about three months from what I have read.
Steelslady
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How sad that they haven't found him yet.
Did he have a cell phone, and if so, was it with him? I am sure LE would have tried to ping it, but I just had to ask.
It's strange that he didn't tell anyone where he was going, and that the person who allegedly dropped him and the horse off hasn't contacted LE yet. Also, how do they know someone picked him up? Did someone see him and the horse leave with this person on the ranch?
Did he have a cell phone, and if so, was it with him? I am sure LE would have tried to ping it, but I just had to ask.
It's strange that he didn't tell anyone where he was going, and that the person who allegedly dropped him and the horse off hasn't contacted LE yet. Also, how do they know someone picked him up? Did someone see him and the horse leave with this person on the ranch?
Sounds like he'd be aware of conditions in a cold area then, if not overly familiar with the area in particular. Gentle horse but horses spook or could fall. Moo
I wonder the same. I am not sure what cell coverage may have been if he ventured out into "the hills" and if lack of coverage would prohibit any cell phone pings - not too sure about what technology can discover/determine. Also, I am going to presume Ben retrieved his horse from either a pasture or a stable and spent some time grooming it and then getting it saddled it up etc. Given the lack of information, other than he is missing, were the owners of the ranch even home when he departed? I know they say he was last seen at 2 pm. What was he doing when he was seen and who saw him ?
It still gets dark rather early this time of year, I would say by about 5:20 for where he was last seen. If it was his day off and he was seen about 2 pm I would think he was just going to go out for a rather short horseback ride and would be back before nightfall/dusk which would mean he was not planning on going too far away or for long which may be why the horse did make it's way back to the ranch, eventually.
??? A lot of questions and not a lot of answers.
cybervampira
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‘We’re coming for you’: Search on for ‘true American cowboy’ missing in B.C. backcountry
If there’s anyone who embodies the cowboy archetype — rugged and dependable — it’s Ben Tyner, family and friends say.
When he’s not riding horses or gathering cattle, Tyner is usually busy making custom chaps, spurs and whips.
“He wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s his passion,” says Jason DeBerard, a family friend in Laramie, Wyo.
“He’s a true American cowboy.”
Family and friends were hoping for the best Wednesday as a search for the missing 32-year-old cowboy dragged into its third day in B.C.’s backcountry.
Tyner, who was born in Florida and raised in Wyoming, had taken on a new job about three months ago as ranch manager at the Nicola Ranch in Merritt, B.C., about three hours east of Vancouver.
[...]
Tyner’s parents, Richard and Jennifer Tyner, and younger brother, Jack, travelled to Merritt from Wyoming to take part in the search.
[...]
According to Tyner’s Facebook page, his career has taken him to ranches all over the world — from Russia to Idaho. Instagram posts in recent months featured some of his leather work, including custom shotgun leggings made from water buffaflo hide, and a 10-foot bullwhip. “Just needs to be wax and treated and it’s ready go!” he wrote.
From the time he was a boy, Tyner was always around horses and cattle, said Larry Sanders, his uncle in Florida.
To be a cowboy — “that’s all he wanted to do.”
[...]
If there’s anyone who embodies the cowboy archetype — rugged and dependable — it’s Ben Tyner, family and friends say.
When he’s not riding horses or gathering cattle, Tyner is usually busy making custom chaps, spurs and whips.
“He wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s his passion,” says Jason DeBerard, a family friend in Laramie, Wyo.
“He’s a true American cowboy.”
Family and friends were hoping for the best Wednesday as a search for the missing 32-year-old cowboy dragged into its third day in B.C.’s backcountry.
Tyner, who was born in Florida and raised in Wyoming, had taken on a new job about three months ago as ranch manager at the Nicola Ranch in Merritt, B.C., about three hours east of Vancouver.
[...]
Tyner’s parents, Richard and Jennifer Tyner, and younger brother, Jack, travelled to Merritt from Wyoming to take part in the search.
[...]
According to Tyner’s Facebook page, his career has taken him to ranches all over the world — from Russia to Idaho. Instagram posts in recent months featured some of his leather work, including custom shotgun leggings made from water buffaflo hide, and a 10-foot bullwhip. “Just needs to be wax and treated and it’s ready go!” he wrote.
From the time he was a boy, Tyner was always around horses and cattle, said Larry Sanders, his uncle in Florida.
To be a cowboy — “that’s all he wanted to do.”
[...]
Steelslady
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I know- I feel for the man and am praying that he is ok. So many things could have happened, including unfortunately foul play. It worries me that whoever drove him and his horse to wherever he went riding has not come forward yet. LE and search teams need an idea as to where to search- I am sure they were able to track some of the horse's hoof prints, but apparently, they didn't lead them to Ben.
Steelslady
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Ok so this man has obviously had a life time of experience working on ranches.
That makes me more worried about him. He obviously knew horses and how to handle them and I doubt that he would have taken a skittish horse to an environment that might make the horse nervous or get spooked.
What the heck happened to this poor man. Do horse's have instincts or loyalty towards their owners? I wonder if letting the horse could lead the way to where it was last with Ben? I admit, I know absolutely nothing about horses, other than they are beautiful animals that you could not pay me enough to ride (saw a friend get thrown off of horse when I was young........), so I don't know if they get attached to their owners like some animals do.
Elainera
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I also know nothing about horses, Steelslady, and how loyal they are but they are said to be very intelligent. So I'd say it's worth a shot! Nothing to lose and it's been three days.
zecats
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I used to own a horse. He recognized me when I came into the barn or field and often would act excited to see me/ would come over to me. Once though, while riding in a field, he suddenly turned to the left and the motion kept me going straight and I fell. He stopped eventually but I didn't feel like it was out of loyalty...more out of oops, I'm in trouble or because no one had control of him any longer.
Horses are pack animals and when riding singly, are often more spooked than when with other horses. And their instinct when spooked is to take off. If he fell and was hurt, there would be no one controlling the horse (with bit and reins) if the horse became fearful of something.
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