CANADA Canada - Ben Tyner, 32, cowboy, his horse returned w/o him, Merritt, British Columbia, 26 Jan 2019

[Gumbeaux]

When BT was first reported missing, was it possible to do any equine forensics if you will? Blood spatter on horse, etc.? Or examine its hooves for particular path taken (i.e., rocky vs muddy)?

 

[Trudie]

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[Trudie]

Wonderings...
Did any ranch employees have issues with BT, their new boss? (Obviously they aren't going to run to LE to confess if they had issues with BT.)
Who tacked Gunny? (Would anyone from the ranch recognize if Gunny was NOT tacked by BT?)
Who was with BT on Saturday night? ( Did he connect with someone's significant other...a fatal yet innocent error?)

This is such a nightmare...just disappearing without a trace....MOO

There’s no msm answers to your questions.

 

[Brubon]

There’s no msm answers to your questions.

Hopefully LE will get those answers and solve this mystery disappearance.
I wish peace for BT's family and friends.

 

[Trudie]

You are asking a lot of good questions.
BT does have a known history of being safety conscious. He also has a known history of riding out to look for strays on his days off.
You are remembering correctly that it has been stated repeatedly in MSM that he didn't take his phone with him, something I gather is often done in that area, due to poor or nonexistent signal availability.

I can give you a little insight into how the cowboys I've worked with have handled the scenarios you are mentioning.

Most farms, both large & small, always have a general rule that you should notify someone that you are heading out for a solo ride. "Notifying" could mean a call in to someone, but more realistically it would be notifying whoever you encounter in passing as you prepare to head out. When you ride as much as BT does, you inevitably end up riding alone sometimes, for a variety of reasons, so I would assume he has ridden by himself, many times. Most professional riders have.

Most cowboys, and specifically most managers, are very tied to the general care of livestock. That care takes place 7 days a week, so "days off" do not mean you literally have no work that needs to be tended to on the ranch; it may mean you have a more simplified list of chores to do, but most likely you will STILL be interacting with at least some of the animals that are in your care or that you care about. So I do find it curious that it has not been made known if anyone thought BT to be missing or absent prior to local ranchers returning his horse to NR & figuring out who the owner is.

I can see how nobody noticed his horse missing, because his horse most likely was kept in a herd & it was not noticed that he was missing until he returned. But on some level, I wonder about that too.

There is a constant level of danger, daily, working with livestock & horses. However, those of us who live on farms and do the daily work that takes place on farms really become familiar & very comfortable with that. Therefore, certain things/activities that to a weekend rider or non rider would seem dangerous, are part of a normal day for some of us.

For example, I literally just came in from an unexpected ride out to the woods behind a back field to find and pony in a horse who sustained an injury. Should I have notified someone I was riding out? Yes. Did I? No. I didn't want to wait for someone else to be available and didn't take the time to call because the weather was about to change & I wanted to get that horse in quickly & knew I could. Is that poor judgement, regarding my own safety? Probably, yes. But to those who ride daily, it really does become part of your normal daily routine and and doesn't stand strongly out as something "out of the ordinary". I will admit though, that BT crossed my mind as I headed out & I will be making a better effort to notify someone every time I head out.

In my opinion, there are many reasons why BT could have taken his horse out that day on his "day off". Many who know him figured he was out looking for strays, which he has been known to do on his days off. Some MSM reports have said he may have had a drone with him. Initial reports stated he would be dressed for the weather conditions, which gives the impression LE had an idea of what boots, gear, etc. he may have had on based on what he normally wore, as well as what was not at his place.

This is absolutely heartbreaking. I hope & pray new information, leading to BT, comes to light very soon.

It’s peculiar Ben didn’t mention to anyone he intended to search for strays on his day off.
Previously posted article:
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.

The search for Tyner has been underway since Monday afternoon, after the riderless and fully tacked horse was found by loggers in the area. The horse was taken to the Nicola Ranch where a brand inspector confirmed it was Tyner’s horse.

Nicola Valley SAR and Kamloops SAR began the search, backed by several volunteers from other search-and-rescue groups. By Tuesday there were 40 search-and-rescue workers on site plus police dogs, snowmobiles and RCMP air support, including drones. The search continued Wednesday, with the help of the Lower Nicola Indian Band.

Straya said Tyner was last seen on Saturday. She said his truck and trailer are still parked in his driveway and there was nothing to suggest in what direction he had headed or why.

“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.

 

[zecats]

Statements from family (Mom and brother) in regards to Ben being missing and lost to them. They have asked for tips in regards to finding Ben before they returned home to Wyoming. I hope too that Ben will be found and returned to them. So sad.

RCMP in British Columbia - Tyner Family Plea for Information Relating to Ben’s Disappearance

 

[Trudie]

Statements from family (Mom and brother) in regards to Ben being missing and lost to them. They have asked for tips in regards to finding Ben before they returned home to Wyoming. I hope too that Ben will be found and returned to them. So sad.

RCMP in British Columbia - Tyner Family Plea for Information Relating to Ben’s Disappearance

How sad for them to have no answers. Reading their words really says it all, imo.
Leaving Ca must have been tremendously difficult, knowing they were leaving Ben. I hope RCMP gives them daily updates.

 

[Trudie]

Another day with no news.
Fingers crossed RCMP tip line is producing some leads.

 

[Portabella]

And I see many of us cannot let this go...I keep checking back...always with hope. IMHO

 

[Tbone144]

The way the horse was tacked poses an interesting identifier if he tacked his horse. I grew up tightening my cinch a certain way and I still do it that way on my horses for the western saddle, multiple loops then then sort of wrap it round and through the dee which picks up the extra and makes it secure. When I started taken lessons, my instructor asked me to do the cinch a different way, couple of loops and then through the hole in the latigo. Then what one does with the excess latigo (leather or nylon strap) can be quite personal as well, back through the dee, through the holder or hanging free. I will tighten mine the same even if there is a buckle versus a ring in the cinch. That’s just one example, but the most likely identifier if anyone paid attention. Not sure it would be visible in pictures.

FWIW it really makes me uncomfortable doing my cinch anyway but the way I was taught, also not checking my cinch before I get on makes me uncomfortable. There is no “I’ll try something different today”, but maybe I’m just really type A.

 

[Trudie]

And I see many of us cannot let this go...I keep checking back...always with hope. IMHO

I know. I guess it’s just such an incredibly sad ending of a seemingly perfect life of a young man, following his dream.

 

[Trudie]

The way the horse was tacked poses an interesting identifier if he tacked his horse. I grew up tightening my cinch a certain way and I still do it that way on my horses for the western saddle, multiple loops then then sort of wrap it round and through the dee which picks up the extra and makes it secure. When I started taken lessons, my instructor asked me to do the cinch a different way, couple of loops and then through the hole in the latigo. Then what one does with the excess latigo (leather or nylon strap) can be quite personal as well, back through the dee, through the holder or hanging free. That’s just one example, but the most likely identifier if anyone paid attention. Not sure it would be visible in pictures.

FWIW it really makes me uncomfortable doing my cinch anyway but the way I was taught, also not checking my cinch before I get on makes me uncomfortable. There is no “I’ll try something different today”, but maybe I’m just really type A.

I agree. His bro would know, if anyone got pix. But, I doubt anyone did because everyone assumed Ben had separated from his horse, as the result of an accident.
We don’t know if LE are working under a different premise now, or not.

 

[enelram]

Another day with no news.
Fingers crossed RCMP tip line is producing some leads.

I keep seeing the mention by RCMP of a "publication ban"
regarding other crimes in the area and thus it seems this
is the norm for the way they operate on dispensing news
of criminal activity.
We don't know the level of skill or sophistication of the local
LE officers who were called in early in the investigation.
I've lived in small towns where the local police chief was
also the part-time dog catcher and wasn't especially skilled
or educated in crime investigation. Sort of Barney Fife,
if you know what I mean.
So my point is, maybe lots of clues were overlooked or
covered up by searchers. Maybe no one really checked
out Ben's horse or the way he was saddled/tacked up,
or whether he had blood or gun shot residue on him.
We just don't know. We may never know.

 

[Trudie]

You’re right (of course) Enelram. First indications led everyone one way. But, was it the right way?
I think not. Just my opinion.

 

[enelram]

Another thought of why I suspected an illegal game poacher
or cattle thief- From reading lots of local fb pages, there are
a lot of low income people in that area who seem to hunt and fish a
lot for food not just recreationally. If you're dependent on local game or lost cattle
to feed your family or just yourself, local laws or hunting
schedules wouldn't mean much when you're hungry and
have no money. They could also sell off their excess meat.
I wonder how strict local LE is on hunting off the calendar.
Do they prosecute? How about cattle thieves? Do LE bother
to pursue it?

 

[Trudie]

Another thought of why I suspected an illegal game poacher
or cattle thief- From reading lots of local fb pages, there are
a lot of low income people in that area who seem to hunt and fish a
lot for food not just recreationally. If you're dependent on local game or lost cattle
to feed your family or just yourself, local laws or hunting
schedules wouldn't mean much when you're hungry and
have no money. They could also sell off their excess meat.
I wonder how strict local LE is on hunting off the calendar.
Do they prosecute? How about cattle thieves? Do LE bother
to pursue it?

Wow. Interesting. Idk how fish & wildlife patrol the Nicola area. Locals might know if they’re in a seldom patrolled area. I have a vacay home in western MI, F & W are always around. The time/weather matters none.

 

[enelram]

Wow. Interesting. Idk how fish & wildlife patrol the Nicola area. Locals might know if they’re in a seldom patrolled area. I have a vacay home in western MI, F & W are always around. The time/weather matters none.

Say Ben came upon some locals poaching or rustling stray
cattle, since he wasn't a local maybe he didn't understand
the local philosophy of live and let live, when it came to
needing game or a cow to feed your family.
I think I read somewhere that F and W was located in a
larger town 20-30 miles away. So not likely they patrol
in Merritt very heavily, moo.

 

[DarkestHour2019]

Okay I might have missed it, but does the small town of Merritt even have a pub? Would it have a cafe/restaurant that would be open at Ten p.m.? I have lived in small towns where there is no pub, (nearest being thirty five miles away in next town) and one cafe that closed by like Seven p.m. at the latest. Fast food was also Thirty Five miles away. I lived there for seven years and then moved to the town Thirty five miles away, because I had to commute to work there daily. Just wondering if there is anything in Merritt? I won't name the town I was in but if you wanted fast food you would go to the Co Op Gas Station which was open until ten and get a pizza or hot dog... The Co Op also served as the Pharmacy and the video store. How big is Merritt? Are Bens dogs kept in the house or outside? Were they hungry/thirsty when his horse was found and they checked his housing? Did they poo in house, and if so how much? So much can be determined by simple things. Did Ben use certain boots for work, as opposed to certain boots to go out to a friends or town? What boots are gone. What was in the saddle bags, if someone else saddled the horse, and there are items in the saddle bags from inside his residence, well you get the idea...hmmm. If on the clock at work you might have to follow the said rule of safety to say where your going etc. But it was allegedly his day off, would he follow the same safety procedure or could this be a one off where he just decided he was going to take a ride. Things happen that make us do things differently then usual sometimes. We divert from routines. I remember as a kid (worked horses for free board) I would get a call on a school night at two a.m., So and so was trying to mount so and so, broke out of stall. (true story) instead of waking my Mom to drive me. I got on my bike and hauled butt the mile down the road to go put them up. My Mom was none the wiser that I had been out that night for a good hour and then back to bed. I am just saying things make us divert from the norm. So when it comes to Ben we must think outside the box. Perhaps he did not sleep well that night and got up for an early morning ride, reporting to no one. Who knows...(that being the problem). IMHO

Yes seven Eleven is open 24/7, there are 3 or 4 bars open, ah yeah a Chevron is open 24/7, I think that’s about it. Let’s see if I can remember the bars, you have the Grand, the Cold Water Bar, the Time Out Bar, they serve alcohol at Boston Pizza but that’s more of a sports bar.

 

[zecats]

MISSING: BEN TYNER

From an admin of page:

Just to give you all piece of mind I spoke with Jack today and Bens horses and dogs are back on the ranch in Wyoming... this is just a picture not actual animals...

 

[Equestrian]

It is my own strong personal opinion that photos of BT's horse were definitely taken after being found and prior to being untacked. I agree with those who have commented about and believe the details in the way his horse was tacked up that day being extremely relevant. I believe there is a lot of information that is being withheld by LE.
I think the lack of information being released to MSM is not an indication of the ability or skill level of those involved in this investigation. It can be easy to assume there is a lack of skill when there is a lack of information being released.

Like so many, I desperately want information to come to light so BT's family and all who have felt a connection to BT to find closure or resolution. The weight of this is heartbreaking.