Searchers using favourite song to draw missing boy out of Alberta wilderness
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CROWSNEST PASS – Searchers are hoping the lilt of a familiar song will draw a six-year-old boy out of the woods after he vanished from a southern Alberta campground Sunday.
Adam Kennedy from Alberta Search and Rescue says crews are employing several tactics in looking for Darius Macdougall, who has autism.
They include avoiding loud noises or bright lights at night.
“The priorities remain pushing further out routes that Darius may have travelled on while continuing to cover areas previously searched,” Kennedy told reporters Thursday.
As the search hit its fifth day, Kennedy said there have been no discussions of scaling back efforts to find the boy.
“We are still working on the assumption that Darius is alive,” Kennedy said.
Ground crews spent the night scouring the area, with support from drones, helicopters and police dogs, he said. Temperatures overnight reached a low of about three degrees.
“There are approximately 120 personnel on the scene from across Alberta and British Columbia continuing the ground search,” he said.
RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney said crews haven’t found anything that could belong to Darius in their search, such as torn clothing or footprints.
Kennedy said one method searchers hope will work involves playing one of the boy’s favourite songs, but the official wouldn’t say what that tune is.
RCMP have said Darius didn’t return from a walk with several young family members to their campsite in the Crowsnest Pass area of the Rocky Mountains. But police have not publicly outlined the circumstances that led Darius to be separated from the group, the age of the family members who were with him at the time or other details about his disappearance.
Slaney said police are continuing interviews that could help lead searchers in the boy’s direction.
Police do not believe foul play is involved.
Police initially said Darius was five due to an error made at the beginning of the search.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2025.
— By Matthew Scace in Calgary and Aaron Sousa in Edmonton.