After being missing for more than a month, 26-year-old Russell Adrian Hyslop of Lac Brochet was reunited with his family after being found in a shack north of the Burntwood River July 20.
Hyslop’s father Tom Shaoullie said his son was discovered after a floatplane spotted him in the bush a short distance away from the Miles Hart Bridge on Friday evening.
While details surrounding his disappearance are still sketchy, Shaoullie said Hyslop decided to hide out in the woods near Thompson out of fear that he was being pursued by people who wanted to do him harm.
“He thought people were out to kill him, so he kept to himself and survived off the land,” he said. “He didn’t want any contact. He was hiding. When [our searcher] found him he looked scared.”
While Shaoullie didn’t want to press his son for more specific details, he told the Thompson Citizen on July 23 that Hyslop survived using survival skills he was taught as a child.
Before being found, Hyslop hadn’t been seen since June 19, when he was visiting Thompson for medical treatment and thinking about entering a treatment program at Addictions Foundation of Manitoba.
Hyslop’s family members, including his three sons, were simply ecstatic to hear that he was safe.
Shaoullie, Hyslop’s mother Jeanette and a dedicated group of volunteers have been relentlessly searching for Hyslop throughout the entire time he was gone, combing the trails around Thompson and even travelling to Winnipeg to raise more awareness about his disappearance.
"We just broke [down] in tears and everybody that was looking for him broke in tears and was so happy that we found him alive that he's OK," Jeanette told CBC News.
Hyslop is currently being monitored by family members at Thompson General Hospital and is awaiting an official assessment for his the status of his mental health.
“We’re just glad he’s home,” Shaoullie said. “Everybody was overwhelmed. The whole community was behind us.”
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) put out a press release July 22 to remind people that there are still a lot of outstanding missing persons cases in the surrounding area.
Echoing sentiments expressed during their July 19 missing loved ones awareness walk in Thompson, MKO is urging government representatives to dedicate more money and resources towards these kinds of search-and-rescue operations in the north, like the one currently underway for 60-year-old Dianne Bignell, who has been missing since May 17.
“The MKO and the northern First Nations urge the provincial and federal governments to work together with the RCMP and First Nations to develop supports and systems for when a community member goes missing.”
Thompson RCMP detachment officer-in-charge Insp. Kevin Lewis said in an email July 21 that RCMP were relieved that Hyslop had been found alive.
“We would like to thank all the searchers , emergency services, and volunteers that have helped to find Russell,” Lewis wrote.“The MKO and the northern First Nations urge the provincial and federal governments to work together with the RCMP and First Nations to develop supports and systems for when a community member goes missing.”
