On the heels of Nicolas Marion's 39th birthday on March 25, the father of the man who went missing from Youbou June 30, 2024 has hired a private firm to help locate his son.
Carl Marion has asked for the help of the non-profit group Please Bring Me Home to help find Nicolas.
"They're the ones that are driving this bus," licenced investigator Crissy Travers said on Wednesday, April 9.
"With the warm weather approaching, I am organizing both a land and water search for early June, focusing specifically on Lake Cowichan," Travers wrote earlier in the week on the Nicolas Marion Search & Info Facebook page. "The water search will target shorelines and areas beneath and around docks — accessible by boat or watercraft. If Nick is resting in Lake Cowichan, now is the time to search."
The investigator explained that searching the lake is just a starting point.
"It's been long enough that if he in fact is in the lake, this is the time where things should be found," she said. "Nothing's been found conclusively so far other than a t-shirt that was in a bush. We are not ruling out any other theories. This scenario has been around so long we just want to eliminate it. We're just crossing things off the list. If we can't find anything, then we start with other theories and we don't stop until we find him."
Travers said she's looking for volunteers to help with either the land or water components of the search.
"What I'm looking for is any assistance possible," she said. "Even just to donate lunch or come walk to the trails, or if somebody has a canoe or rowboat or little motorboat of any kind that they can use to help us to check under the docks, or even if they want to just lend us equipment."
Those able to help can email ruby.pbmh@gmail.com to touch base.
Marion had been visiting the Youbou area, from Victoria, with his wife Dory for a music festival during the 2024 Canada Day long weekend. Around 6:30 a.m. on June 30 an agitated Marion told his wife he was going for a walk, leaving his coat, wallet, and phone behind.
He never returned.
Nine months later, and after extensive searching by police, search and rescue groups, family and volunteers, there's still no sign of him.
At the time of his disappearance, Marion was a 38-year-old man standing six feet tall and weighing roughly 170 pounds. Bi-racial (African-American/Caucasian), Marion had black hair, a short beard, and had distinctive tattoos on his neck and arms. He was wearing a black t-shirt, jogging pants, and black retro Nike Air Jordans, size 10 or 11.
In October, Marion's case was discussed on a two-part True North Crime podcast. That was followed in March by a two-episode podcast called "The Vanished".
Those with information are being asked to contact the Lake Cowichan RCMP at 250-749-6668 and quote file 2024-1151, visit: https://pleasebringmehome.com/canada/nicholas-marion/ or call the anonymous tip line at 1-226-702-2728.
Travers said the Please Bring Me Home non-profit isn't about pointing fingers or blaming and they're not doing the work of police.
"We just want to find him," she said. "Nobody deserves to be out there without their family. We're just solely here to bring him home."
Those able to donate to the cause can visit https://pleasebringmehome.com/
