It’s a story of perseverance and dedication: A small group of volunteers who formed an unbreakable bond, spending countless hours away from their own loved ones to bring closure to the family of Melissa McDevitt, a family thousands of kilometres away in another country.
“We got involved after the snow had started to melt significantly in February,” said Marsha van Rhyn Henderson, a volunteer searcher with the group Finding Melissa.
She is part of a small group of five original searchers that has spent the last nine months trying to find McDevitt.
“We just had to get out there,” said van Rhyn Henderson.
The 39-year old McDevitt last spoke with her family on Dec. 8 of last year. On surveillance video captured Dec. 9, she was seen on heading out for a hike in the vast network of trails in the Sooke hills.
When she failed catch a flight from Vancouver to the U.S. the next day, an extensive search ensued. Her father flew out from North Carolina to assist, but the effort was unsuccessful.
“We began by going out once or twice a week,” said van Rhyn Henderson, adding that Finding Melissa started as a small group of two or three.
By the summer, the group would often grow to between five and 10 volunteers, searching three to four times a week.
“We’ve spent hundreds of hours,” said van Rhyn Henderson.
