It’s a positive outcome to a more than sombre story.
Three months later and 37-year-old Kevin ‘Bear’ Henry—last seen in the Lake Cowichan area—has been found alive and well.
However, genderqueer and Two-Spirit Henry had no idea how long they were gone or that they were reported missing in the first place.
The December 11th missing persons report by VicPD noted that Henry hadn’t been heard from since November 27th.
It spurred various helicopter searches as a result, as well as a GoFundMe page, a candlelight vigil and an outpouring of support.
Just this past Monday, Henry’s best friend Shae Perkins spoke with Victoria Buzz, recalling their memories together, as friends, family and RCMP renewed a call for help in finding them.
But in a dramatic turn of events, a video posted yesterday to the Fairy Creek Blockade Facebook page shows Henry on the phone explaining they were stuck in the bush near Fairy Creek.
“I walked back from where my van was,” Henry said in the video, filmed at a Lake Cowichan Tim Hortons.
“It took me like two days to walk back, and I got to the top of this bridge that goes into Caycuse. It’s like a little campground, like a backcountry campground, and I got to the top of that, and these two loggers came randomly.”
According to Henry, they then flagged the loggers down and hitched a ride into town.
During the drive, the loggers said they recognized Henry, noting their missing posters were scattered all over Lake Cowichan and Duncan.
“And I was like, ‘Wait, what? What day is it?’ And they’re like, ‘It’s Tuesday.’ I’m like, ‘What month is it?’ And they’re like, ‘It’s February 9th.’”
That’s when Henry realized how long they’d been gone.
“And I’m like, ‘I have no backcountry experience whatsoever.’” And [they’re like], ‘I think you do now.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my god, you’re right, I totally do.’”
“I’m never going back there again,” Henry added with a laugh.
Henry was talking to his mom, Eileen, who later shared her appreciation for the community’s plethora of love and encouragement.
“These past few months have been difficult and painful, not knowing where Bear was. How lucky I am to have such a caring community. I raise my hands to you all,” she posted to Facebook.
In a Wednesday press release, Lake Cowichan RCMP added that it understands many questions abound about how and where Henry survived.
“The RCMP is now working to determine more specific details but will leave it to the missing person to determine how or if those details are shared publicly,” police said.
More to come…
