She went missing in December of last year, and as of this week, Sooke hiker Melissa McDevitt’s body has finally been found.
The 38-year old hiker ventured into a Sooke hiking area on December 10th, 2022 and was officially reported missing two days later when she did not return.
Police along with family members then launched an exhaustive nine-day search effort in the surrounding area, with the hope that she had merely stepped off trail and was still alive, surviving in the wilderness.
After those nine days, the search effort was put on hold as no new information had come to light and her body had not been found.
Six months later in July, Sooke RCMP investigators announced that new information had come to light and a search effort was initiated. Location information had been gleaned from McDevitt’s GPS watch she was wearing upon entering the trailhead.
In this new search, sadly McDevitt was not found.
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Another six months later, on Thursday, December 7th, police announced that after one year of searching, McDevitt’s deceased body had been found.
Police say that although it isn’t being ruled out, no foul play or criminality appears to have been involved in her death.
The BC RCMP along with the BC Coroners Service will be investigating the young woman’s death going forward.
“Out of respect for her family, no further details will be released,” wrote an RCMP spokesperson in a media statement.
