Speaking with CFNR News on Tuesday, July 15th, Shauna Kelly, the wife of missing fisherman Thomas Kelly, confirmed that while official search efforts by the authorities to find her husband of 26-years have been postponed until further notice due to conditions on the Skeena River, private search efforts organized by family and friends have not stopped.
‘There’s not been absolutely anything going on with Terrace Search and Rescue since 6pm the night before last night (Sunday, July 13th). We’ve been searching by ourselves. I’ve been out 12 hours a day everyday.’ – Shauna Kelly, wife of Thomas Kelly
This past weekend, Search and Rescue teams from Terrace and Kitimat conducted a thorough sweep of the Skeena river by both boat and helicopter but were unable to locate Thomas. The Terrace RCMP confirmed the search on the river will not resume until local environmental conditions improve, or new information emerges.
Shauna Kelly has now set up a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising enough money to hire a private ‘water drone’ operator to search key areas of the Skeena.
‘We really want to get a contact to hire a water drone, just to try and get as many people out searching for him as possible.’ – Shauna Kelly, wife of Thomas Kelly
Family and friends of the Kelly’s continue to organize search efforts based on Usk Frontage Road. Shauna Kelly says anyone looking to get involved in the private search efforts, either on foot or with their own boat, should get in touch with either Tammy Reece or Denise Hendry in Usk via Facebook, or by phone at 1 (778) 361-0759.
The Terrace RCMP refused requests for interviews about the search, but confirmed their investigation into Thomas Kelly’s disappearance remains ongoing. They’ve encouraged anyone with further information to contact the Terrace RCMP Detachment.
According to police, Thomas Kelly was last seen while fishing on the shore of the Skeena at approximately 6:45 pm on Saturday, July 12th. Thomas was reported to have been in the water for several minutes when family lost sight of him.
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