CANADA Canada - Darius Macdougall, 5, Crowsnest Pass, Alberta,Canada 21 Sept 2025

[100summers]

Oh please don't think my Q was aimed at you, you only wrote out the words!

You're all good! I have the exact same question as you

 

[MistyWaters]

Snipped by me
(thank you so much for this update!)

I have never heard of this before!?
"The scent he'd be giving off at this point"?? My understanding is a cadaver dog seeks a dead human body? No matter their age or anything about them, the dogs are searching for scent of a body?

"A cadaver dog, also known as a Human Remains Detection Dog (HRDD), is a dog specially trained to detect the scent of human decomposition, which is distinct from the scent of living humans. Law enforcement, medical examiners, and search teams use these dogs to locate human remains in a variety of environments, including land, water, and buried sites, to assist in criminal investigations and provide closure for families of missing persons. "

Is this a Canadian thing or am I out of the loop?

I think a person’s scent does not disappear the minute they die. This article explains it quite well.

S&R - Working Dogs and Dead Bodies

Training a dog in a search profile for missing persons, and or evidence search is really very basic. The key element is getting the dog to search and indicate human scent. How the dog is taught this and how the dog indicates this varies from trainer to trainer and handler to handler

leerburg.com

 

[TMich6811]

Just thinking of all of the front line workers who were searching and how this will haunt them for life

 

[TMich6811]

Dbm

 

[MistyWaters]

I hope so, according to social media there's lots of people wanting to help.

It’s a very remote and dangerous area for people with no wilderness familiarity. IIRC there’s no cellphone coverage. How would they know where to look and not get lost themselves? Temp is getting near freezing at night, next comes snow. Summer days of camping are over, already daylight hours are getting shorter and shorter. I’m curious how their talk would be put into action.
JMO

 

[Lalalacasbah]

It’s a very remote and dangerous area for people with no wilderness familiarity. IIRC there’s no cellphone coverage. How would they know where to look and not get lost themselves? Temp is getting near freezing at night, next comes snow. Summer days of camping are over, already daylight hours are getting shorter and shorter. I’m curious how their talk would be put into action.
JMO

I got the impression it was seasoned hikers and people familiar with the area so they wouldn't be going in blind or reckless.

It sounds like a few of them phoned SAR as well to volunteer because they have a background/experience in it, unsure if they were called back or invited though.

On the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass official FB page there was a comment by a woman on Sept 25th's Public Information post which was interesting. She mentioned she call RCMP on day 3 of the search to share her knowledge of the area. She has wandered off trail all over the area including Tent Mtn and CNP and created 1000 route plans for the area. She ran an outdoors group/business where they ran backcountry trails flood program and says she has the skill set to navigate mountains and teach, so I'm wondering if she'll go exploring!

But yes, the cold might keep people at bay... and then snow, so true. I am hoping little Darius is found before then!

Municipality of Crowsnest Pass | Coleman AB

Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, Coleman. 4,715 likes · 920 talking about this · 62 were here. The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is tucked into the southwest corner of Alberta in the beautiful Rocky...

www.facebook.com

 

[100summers]

It’s a very remote and dangerous area for people with no wilderness familiarity. IIRC there’s no cellphone coverage. How would they know where to look and not get lost themselves? Temp is getting near freezing at night, next comes snow. Summer days of camping are over, already daylight hours are getting shorter and shorter. I’m curious how their talk would be put into action.
JMO

A lot of people in the area would've grown up there and/or are avid outdoorsman. I can't speak for the people on social media (in my opinion I'm sure there's quite a few saying they'll search but aren't necessarily suited for it, like you described) but there's a good number of people who'd be very familiar with the area.

Cell service is non-existent to spotty depending on the carrier, but most people straying far enough from the highway and roads to experience that have satphones with them. Temps are still pretty mild and manageable with layers, but the shorter days is a good point and I'd hope they wouldn't be searching past dark.

Imo I don't think any sort of organized public search will have much success either way. I think it'll be the random chance of someone noticing something while they're out hunting or hiking.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

A lot of people in the area would've grown up there and/or are avid outdoorsman. I can't speak for the people on social media (in my opinion I'm sure there's quite a few saying they'll search but aren't necessarily suited for it, like you described) but there's a good number of people who'd be very familiar with the area.

Cell service is non-existent to spotty depending on the carrier, but most people straying far enough from the highway and roads to experience that have satphones with them. Temps are still pretty mild and manageable with layers, but the shorter days is a good point and I'd hope they wouldn't be searching past dark.

Imo I don't think any sort of organized public search will have much success either way. I think it'll be the random chance of someone noticing something while they're out hunting or hiking.

Is there snowmobiling or cross country skiing in that area? I know nothing about it so sorry if a stupid question!

I would think a lot of people living out there are on Starlink in general and use those satphones often?

 

[MistyWaters]

I got the impression it was seasoned hikers and people familiar with the area so they wouldn't be going in blind or reckless.

It sounds like a few of them phoned SAR as well to volunteer because they have a background/experience in it, unsure if they were called back or invited though.

On the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass official FB page there was a comment by a woman on Sept 25th's Public Information post which was interesting. She mentioned she call RCMP on day 3 of the search to share her knowledge of the area. She has wandered off trail all over the area including Tent Mtn and CNP and created 1000 route plans for the area. She ran an outdoors group/business where they ran backcountry trails flood program and says she has the skill set to navigate mountains and teach, so I'm wondering if she'll go exploring!

But yes, the cold might keep people at bay... and then snow, so true. I am hoping little Darius is found before then!

Municipality of Crowsnest Pass | Coleman AB

Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, Coleman. 4,715 likes · 920 talking about this · 62 were here. The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is tucked into the southwest corner of Alberta in the beautiful Rocky...

www.facebook.com

Yes I hope so too. It’s just puzzling why the recent RCMP search which included up to 225 trained and active searchers, infrared sensors seeking body heat, helicopters scanning the ground, SAR dog teams, and a multitude of drones with specialized photographic capabilities, all that proved unsuccessful.

I agree with 100Summers. If finding him is successful, it will be a by-chance discovery at some point in the future, rather than an organized search.

 

[MistyWaters]

Is there snowmobiling or cross country skiing in that area? I know nothing about it so sorry if a stupid question!

I would think a lot of people living out there are on Starlink in general and use those satphones often?

There’s no shortage of unpopulated, undeveloped crown land in the Canadian Rockies closer to accommodations, I’d say the most popular areas are near Banff and Canmore. But Fernie which is west into BC is a popular ski resort. There’s several small towns in the Crowsnest Pass but overall it does not support a large population. There’s a coal mine near Sparwood providing the area with employment opportunities. But no, IMO the Crowsnest pass is not a huge wintertime recreational draw, one reason because heavy snow at times can cause very poor road conditions.
JMO

 

[100summers]

Is there snowmobiling or cross country skiing in that area? I know nothing about it so sorry if a stupid question!

I would think a lot of people living out there are on Starlink in general and use those satphones often?

There's a ton of both! It's not drawing in visitors or anything but the locals definitely do a lot of it

There's decent cell service anywhere around town or along Highway 3 in that area (except for a few random patches) and on the shorter trails nearby, so the only times people would really be using the satphones would be when they're planning to go pretty far out of the way or they're planning to go for a while

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Yes I hope so too. It’s just puzzling why the recent RCMP search which included up to 225 trained and active searchers, infrared sensors seeking body heat, helicopters scanning the ground, SAR dog teams, and a multitude of drones with specialized photographic capabilities, all that proved unsuccessful.

I agree with 100Summers. If finding him is successful, it will be a by-chance discovery at some point in the future, rather than an organized search.

ITA... It really is heartbreaking and shocking they didn't find a thing. With all the skills, manpower and technology... how could he stay lost? Poor guy. I'm at a loss, I thought they'd maybe at least recover him. The searchers must be drained, I feel for them too.

For sure, it could be a fluke find and random that someone comes across him one day. There is a little part of me that still wonders if he got further than thought and is out of the search zone but we may never know.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

There's a ton of both! It's not drawing in visitors or anything but the locals definitely do a lot of it

There's decent cell service anywhere around town or along Highway 3 in that area (except for a few random patches) and on the shorter trails nearby, so the only times people would really be using the satphones would be when they're planning to go pretty far out of the way or they're planning to go for a while

The locals must really enjoy their playground, that sounds fun! Even though I'm too chicken to be that adventurous in cold/snow haha, I admire those who do it!

I grew up in Southern Alberta as a child and we ice skated in an outdoor rink, went tobogganing, some skiing but never tried cross country or snowmobiling.

That's great about cell service, especially for safety. I'm on west coast/Vancouver Island. Years ago I drove up to Port Renfrew and no cell service on that road (I think they have it now?) gave me the heebeegeebeez as it was quite isolated feeling out there! It's a nice, safe feeling having that lifeline lol

 

[musicaljoke]

Snipped by me
(thank you so much for this update!)

I have never heard of this before!?
"The scent he'd be giving off at this point"?? My understanding is a cadaver dog seeks a dead human body? No matter their age or anything about them, the dogs are searching for scent of a body?

"A cadaver dog, also known as a Human Remains Detection Dog (HRDD), is a dog specially trained to detect the scent of human decomposition, which is distinct from the scent of living humans. Law enforcement, medical examiners, and search teams use these dogs to locate human remains in a variety of environments, including land, water, and buried sites, to assist in criminal investigations and provide closure for families of missing persons. "

Is this a Canadian thing or am I out of the loop?

It seems to be normal protocol to have two stages to the work done by dogs when a person goes missing. The Search and Rescue dogs come in first. They search for the precise scent of the living person.

When all hope is gone that the missing person will be found alive, then the work changes to the second stage, which is a recovery mission. At that point, all the SAR dogs along with the searching teams are removed from the search area.

Cadaver dogs search for a completely different scent than SAR dogs. There is usually no urgency in deploying the cadaver dogs since they are not working to find a living person. Therefore the cadaver dogs are deployed when conditions are most favourable for their use.

I don't know if this is a Canadian thing or not, but I don't recall ever seeing a search and rescue operation happening concurrently with a recovery mission.

 

[Serononin]

Snipped by me
(thank you so much for this update!)

I have never heard of this before!?
"The scent he'd be giving off at this point"?? My understanding is a cadaver dog seeks a dead human body? No matter their age or anything about them, the dogs are searching for scent of a body?

"A cadaver dog, also known as a Human Remains Detection Dog (HRDD), is a dog specially trained to detect the scent of human decomposition, which is distinct from the scent of living humans. Law enforcement, medical examiners, and search teams use these dogs to locate human remains in a variety of environments, including land, water, and buried sites, to assist in criminal investigations and provide closure for families of missing persons. "

Is this a Canadian thing or am I out of the loop?

So the RCMP explained a bit more about this recently in the Lilly and Jack Sullivan case, and it makes a lot more sense to me now - essentially, SAR dogs are trained to detect the scent of a person who is alive or recently deceased, whereas HRDD are more useful for detecting advanced decomposition.

There are also very few HRDD currently working in Canada, only about 10 IIRC? And one of them is currently out of work due to injury. They've had to transport dogs all the way from British Columbia to Nova Scotia in the Sullivan case, and they're only just starting the search with those dogs now, when the children have been missing since early May

 

[wvmoonangel]

The search has been stopped,they are now assuming he is deceased.

Search to end for Darius Macdougall, missing 11 days

RCMP and Search and Rescue Alberta say they are ending the search for six-year-old Darius Macdougall who went missing Sept. 21.

calgary.citynews.ca