Search called off for kayaker missing near Sooke, officials say

The search for a kayaker who went missing in the waters off Sooke has ended, search and rescue officials say. Timothy Ross, 38, left Ella Beach on Sunday afternoon and didn't return as expected by 4 p.m. A four-day search ended Wednesday night, but Ross' body was not found, said Vicki Weber, a senior manager with Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue. "We presume that, unfortunately, he has drowned," said Weber. The search involved the RCMP, military, Canadian and U.S. coast guards, two local search and rescue groups and Civil Air Search and Rescue Association. Weber said during the search, she held onto the small possibility that Ross, a Langford resident, somehow managed to make it to a small island or was carried across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Washington. On Wednesday, Ross' kayak was spotted a half kilometre offshore from MacMillan Road, between Ella Beach and Whiffin Spit. "I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of those who have helped and volunteered their time on this investigation," said Sgt. Kevin Shaw, the operations NCO for the Sooke RCMP detachment. "It is directly because of their vigilance that the kayak was located and recovered."