Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Search For Missing Tourist Called Off

Search For Missing Tourist Called Off

Law enforcement officials have officially called off the search for the missing Canadian man who went missing since Monday, October 25, after he went for a swim off Cooper Island.
Director of Operations at the Virgin Islands Search & Rescue (VISAR) Phil Aspinall told BVI Platinum on Tuesday, November 2, that the search yielded no results.

“There was nothing found sadly, and the search was officially called off at the weekend as an official search with people going out dedicated to that. The police and the task force will continue to keep an eye out while they do their other regular patrols and stuff, but as far as going out specifically all day, every day to look for him that stopped at the weekend,” he told BVI Platinum News.

He further informed that the search was extended to the Sir Francis Drake Channel across Tortola, “where we predicted the drift would be and then similar distance on the other side out in the deep ocean.”

He continued: “It was a very, very extensive search, and then we did shoreline searches on all the beaches on the coastline on all of Cooper, Salt, Dead Chest, Peter Island and Norman Island. I don’t think he would have drifted that far, but we went that far.”

Asphinall said this is not the first time their search yielded no results in that area.

“We had one there about three years ago at pretty much the same spot we didn’t find either. It is a very current-driven area where the seas are coming in around the island, and the current is very strong there. In a more relaxed Bay, typically we would always find them it’s just nature is against there sadly,” he said.

When asked if he would advise potential swimmers of the danger, he said: “no, no, no it's not dangerous. People swim there all day every day.”

“It is a very safe swimming place typically it’s just because of the mix of currents on the surface and below because of the fact that the nature of the island the big sea comes into the little channel if you like,” he added.

He, however, said swimmers should look out for each other.

In the meantime, a press release from the Police stated, “Initial investigations indicate that the snorkeler, a Canadian visitor to the Territory, joined a charter with four other visitors, unknown to him at the time, which left Scrub Island for Cooper Island yesterday morning.”

The release further stated that all five charter guests entered the water off Cooper Island, and the missing male snorkeler did not return to the boat.

When the quartet did not see him resurface, they made a distress call to the authorities. The search commenced shortly after the 11.13 am call on Monday, October 25.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×