Boy, 6, Vanished Over a Week Ago While Walking with Family. Authorities Say His Chance of Survival Is Less Than 5%

NEED TO KNOW

• A week into the search for a missing 6-year-old boy, authorities said his “survivability is less than 5%”

• Darius Macdougall was last seen walking with family in the Canadian Rockies on Sept. 21

• The child has autism, which has informed the tactics officials use in their search

A 6-year-old boy has been missing for more than a week in the Canadian Rockies and officials say his chances of survival are bleak.

As intensive search efforts continue, Corporal Gina Slaney of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said at a press conference on Sunday, Sept. 28, that officers had spoken with the family of Darius Macdougall about adjusting the rescue operation, Global News, CBC News and City News reported.

“With regards to the search, the survivability is less than 5%,” Slaney said, noting that they’d considered the “terrain, exposure to the elements, and the amount of time that this search has gone on,” according to CBC News.

While the rescue operation is not being scaled back, she said that search teams are “approaching things differently.”

“We are still out there in full force searching,” said Slaney, according to the outlet.

On Sept. 21, at 11:33 a.m. local time, authorities received a report of a missing boy, police said in press releases shared with PEOPLE. Macdougall was last seen walking with six family members more than two miles south of Crowsnest Pass near Island Lake Campground.

He is described as 4 feet tall, with short brown hair, and was last seen wearing a blue-grey hoodie and sweatpants, according to authorities.

“Darius has a medical issue which may prevent him from responding to others,” officials said in the first press release from Sept. 21. They later confirmed that the child has autism, according to an updated release. Following his disappearance, officers immediately commenced a multi-agency search involving more than 200 people, dogs, drones, infrared cameras and search teams on the ground and in the air.

In another update, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that they were in close touch with the family during the stressful search.

“We have Victim Family Liaison Officers providing direct support to family members. This is a specially trained unit that focuses on providing a trauma-based / victim-centered approach to managing those who have experienced a major trauma,” officials said. “This ensures a single point of contact between family and the RCMP, who are focusing on the needs of the family, doing their best to reduce re-traumatization by ensuring they have a voice and are included.”

Seven days into the massive search operation, officials shared their concerns. At the Sept. 28 press conference, Adam Kennedy from Search and Rescue Alberta shared how rescue efforts were being adapted because of the boy’s chances of survival.

“Given this unfortunate stage of the search, some tactics will be changed and ground search methods will be adjusted to reflect this,” he said, according to Global News. This includes “the use of some of the infrared technologies on the assumption that the infrared technologies won’t be picking up any heat signatures on the ground,” Kennedy said, according to City News.

“That’s the biggest change right now, changing from using the infrared to solely cameras to search the ground,” he added.

Authorities explained that factors like the little boy’s health, weather and terrain were part of the decision-making process, including data from other similar missing persons cases, the outlet reported. Macdougall is verbal, but may not respond to his name, so search teams have avoided loud noises. Instead, they’ve played the 6-year-old’s favorite song during the search, according to CBC News.

As the search continues, Slaney said that foul play is not currently suspected, according to the outlet.

In an interview with CBC News, search-and-rescue professional Robert Koester said that children with autism go missing more than one would assume.

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“The major challenge with autism is in some cases they’re non-responsive, so if you shout their name, they can’t call back,” he told the outlet. “In other cases, you shout their name and they don’t want to call back because they may be afraid.”

Anyone with information about the 6-year-old’s whereabouts is asked to contact police at 403-562-2866. To submit an anonymous tip, call Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 222-8477, online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the P3 Tips app.

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