Coquitlam RCMP is calling on social media users to back off after several people on Instagram targeted Coquitlam Search and Rescue’s account in a campaign to restart the search for a missing hiker.
Roughly 600 people have liked an Aug. 25 post by the local search and rescue outfit describing how “the search continues for Ali Safar Naderi on Eagle Mountain.” Since then, search and rescue teams have halted their operations and hundreds of identical posts from multiple accounts have implored the volunteer rescue group to continue looking for the missing Coquitlam man.
Several users have commented multiple times with some version of “Plz keep searching mr naderi,” something police say is “not helpful.”
“Asking Coquitlam SAR volunteers to restart a search is an understandable emotional response, but it’s not a decision that they make on their own,” said Coquitlam RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Michael McLaughlin in a written statement.
Police are still working hard to find Ali Naderi, but a social media campaign asking Search and Rescue volunteers to restart the physical search is not proving helpful: https://t.co/tHOgbUIPlT pic.twitter.com/igE0JhZrfs
— CQ RCMP (@cqrcmp) September 3, 2020
Both Coquitlam RCMP and Search and Rescue teams halted the search for 52-year-old Ali Naderi on Aug. 31 after a week of searching in the Eagle Mountain area.
Naderi was an avid hiker who often explored the local trails on his own. But when he didn’t report back Aug. 23 and his vehicle was found parked in the 2100 block of Diamond Crescent, a search was launched.
Coquitlam RCMP investigators searched Naderi’s vehicle and apartment for clues and have spoken to his extended family and neighbours. There is nothing to explain what happened to Naderi, according to Coquitlam RCMP.
The public responded to calls for information with dozens of tips and one individual provided an image of Naderi captured on a trail cam.
In the end, Coquitlam Search and Rescue brought in 183 trained volunteers who carried out 2,400 hours of searching. Teams used drones, helicopters and search dogs as they scoured 48,000 square metres of trail but “each extra day of searching included entering riskier terrain with less certainty that they were looking in the right direction,” wrote Cpl. McLaughlin in the release.
Seven days later, the search was ended, though a missing persons investigation under the jurisdiction of the Coquitlam RCMP’s Missing Person Unit continues.
Should more information point to Naderi’s location, “a search could resume based on those specific tips,” according to police.
Police describe Naderi as a 52-year-old Persian man with brown eyes and black, salt and pepper hair that curls over his ears. At 178 centimetres (5’10) and 80 kilograms (176 pounds), he was last seen wearing dark-coloured shorts, a dark-coloured, lightweight hiking jacket and carrying hiking poles.
If you have seen Naderi, or may have information about his whereabouts, please contact the Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550 and quote file number 2020-22677.
