UPDATED: Police search for missing Newfoundland truck driver
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is asking drivers and hunters to check for potentially relevant video to locate a truck driver who went missing near Cornwall, Ont. last week.
Brian, 51, from Newfoundland, was heading back to Newfoundland and was expected on the East Coast this week, according to a news release from the OPP’s Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (SD&G) detachment.
Various news reports have identified the driver as Brian Lush.
Brian’s family last heard from him April 24. They tracked the truck’s GPS to a gas station on County Road-27 in the Summerstown area and then contacted the OPP.
OPP officers confirmed Brian’s truck was at that location but could not find Brian. His personal belongings were in the vehicle.
Dashcam, trail video footage sought
Investigators want to hear from motorists who have dashcam video from Highway-401 westbound, in the Boundary Road area near Cornwall from April 25, between 10:30 a.m. and noon. An individual, partially matching Brian’s description had been reported along the highway at that time but could not be located when officers arrived.
The OPP is also asking hunters or others with trail cameras in the South Glengarry, South Stormont and Cornwall area to check for any possible sightings.
“We appreciate offers of assistance from the public, but untrained civilians can actually interfere with our work, contaminating potential scent trails, that our canines could track and interfere with possible evidence or signs that could lead us to locate Brian,” the OPP said.
Surveillance video shows the missing man getting out of his truck at the gas station just after 4:30 p.m. on April 24, and walking to the front of his truck. He is not seen again on video.
Brian is described as 5’10” (178 cm), medium build, 200 lbs (91 kg), brown eyes and short brown hair. He was last seen wearing a blue hoodie, jeans and possibly a ball cap.
Dogs, drones used in search
The OPP emergency response team, dogs and drones conducted a search of the area.
In an update on April 28, the OPP said on social media that a “helicopter will be in the area again today,” asking, only trained volunteers to come forward.
“OPP Emergency Response, Canine Units and trained civilian searchers from @osarva will be continuing the ground search. As mentioned, while we appreciate the offers, we are not looking for untrained volunteers to assist,” the OPP said on X.
Anyone with information should contact the SD&G OPP Detachment at 1-888-310-1122 and reference incident E240508329.
UPDATE: OPP report the missing driver was found deceased.
This story has been updated with the latest information provided by the OPP.
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Yes, you’re right. Check with the companies dispatch if he had any issues at work and maybe he had issues at home decided to leave the truck. And walk away from the issues Sometimes person has issues they don’t wanna talk about it to anybody. They try to walk away from it, but that doesn’t help. I hope he Is found safe and OK.
Don’t feel this will end good. It has been too long but hopefully he will show up at his door.
My thoughts are with his family who must be going through some torment I can’t imagine.
Update to the case. Driver remains found inside trailer when truck and trailer were returned to Newfoundland. How will the OPP explain the fact that they obviously did not search both truck and trailer prior to releasing it back to the company. Maybe the SIU should be looking into the pathetic attempt at an investigation by the officers handling the case. As this is a trucking form input on door lock system on a trailer would be helpful but my understanding of the trailer door locks is that they open and lock only from the outside. Please feel free to provide info on this.
So if door only lock and close from outside how did the Driver end up inside a closed trailer. Will we ever hear an update from the OPP or will this case just fade into the back ground to be forgotten.
I’d check with his company and see if he had a disagreement with dispatch. Many times in my 50 years of driving I’ve felt like just walking away!