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"Keep in your heart at all times that Ben, when he returns home safely, will be looking for this site for the support and incredibleness of our community. He will be found in a place of love, care and respect.
"His daughters will be able to come back to their home country and show them how to befriend their daddy home."
It is the keynote message of the Facebook page "Finding Ben Kilmer," a page launched in May, in the wake of a mystery that galvanized a community and the fabric of a young family and close-knit network of friends, a page that grew to include more than 14,500 followers.
It is also the page that on Oct. 24 delivered the unfortunate news: Ben Kilmer – husband, father and subject of one of the largest searches for Vancouver Island unity in recent memory – would not be coming home.
In life, Kilmer – most frequently described as a friend, family man and lover of the great outdoors
But in his disappearance he became a rallying point for Vancouver Islanders from Cape Scott to Race Rocks, for whom he came to symbolize the good things in life and how suddenly they can be stripped away.
"I have no hope that it will be safe to say that it will be safe to say that it seems to be safe and healthy. I can not imagine this outcome. I am so sorry to all who knew and loved Ben. Sending love and healing vibes your way. "
Posted by "Sher Riffic" (its profile picture features Miss Campbell River teen Jordan Holling), the above feeling has been repeated again and again, not only today, but on the street and in the woods the day Ben was last seen.
A Cobble Hill-based electrician, Ben was 41, husband to Tonya and father to two young children when he went to work on May 16. Later that afternoon, he was working on the old Lake Cowichan Road in a heavily-treed rural area west of town.
His personal effects were left in the vehicle. Blood (the source of which was never confirmed) was also found inside. But the owner is nowhere to be seen.
Cowichan Search and Rescue was immediately called, and had a search mobilized within an hour. Its numbers were quickly bolstered with an RCMP dog team and neighboring SAR units from Ladysmith, Juan de Fuca, Saanich Peninsula, Salt Spring Island and Nanaimo. Volunteers went door to door, asking area residents to check out garage and outbuildings. One agreed to drain his pond.
The experts were quickly joined by law enforcement agencies, and expanded the search. Their badistance was rallied through social media, where Tonya urged anyone who could come along and help with the search.
"I believe in every ounce of my being that we are closed," she posted. "I need drones, helicopters, planes !! Anything and everything! He is there! "
Ben was last seen on a Tuesday. By that Saturday, 119 converts scholars signed up at the Sahtlam Fire Hall, where the search was coordinated. Others, including some using ATVs and dirt bikes, controlled the hills and river valley. Friends set up a GoFundMe page aimed at hiring a private helicopter to help with the search.
Searchers were provided with gloves, safety kits and food donated by individuals and businesses from around the Island. Items line camping chairs, signs and posters were also donated. A volunteer in Ottawa organized a sign campaign. At least one man wants to go to Calgary to help with the ground search.
Shauneen Nichols off guard.
"It's unusual for us," she admitted. "I've had this amazing experience just to get you there."
But after hours of the day, the active SAR campaign was halted. Friends and family continued to look, but without any leads, their efforts.
70,000 copies distributed made Ben's one of the most recognizable faces on the Island. Speculation – not all of it, or rooted in the evidence – flowed over social media. Some of the same things in the world of people who are mysteriously disappeared in Ucluelet, but no connection was ever made.
The couple's 16th anniversary pbaded on June 1 with no answers.
A little over a month later, Tonya gave an impbadioned plea for leads during a press conference at the RCMP's Island District headquarters.
"We are devastated. We are broken without this man. He is everything, the heart of our family, "she said," tears flowed and her voice cracked. "His love for us is unwavering. His devotion is unquestionable. His loss has shaken us to the core, and we need to keep it that way.
But summer pbaded without news and the steady stream of Facebook chatter grew quiet.
Until Oct. 17.
Tonya said North Cowichan / Duncan RCMP at 9 p.m. when Staff Sgt. Kurt Bosnell and Const. Scott Harder came to her door.
"The officers said, 'We promised you would be the first to know. We received a call at 2 p.m. today. Ben had been found. He is no longer with us. '
Vancouver Island RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Tammy Douglas said Ben's body was found by a hiker "well outside of the original search area."
The author of the news, who is one of those people who knew how to help people in the world,
The requiem we leave to Tonya:
"I love you my friends. Please reach out to me when you need to. Know that I am being cared for by my friends and family and that my children breathe life into me daily. I am here for you, just as you are here for me. Ben has touched all of our lives in such a profound way. We are truly in this together. If we lean on each other, we will get through. "
– with files from Black Press
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