An Estevan man was found safe and sound on Sunday, shortly after a press release was issued, asking for information on his whereabouts.
Stephane Charles Joseph Blake, 51, was located police just after noon on Sunday near Melita, Man.
The Saskatchewan RCMP issued the news release just before 11 a.m. on Sunday morning. The Estevan detachment was asking for assistance in locating Blake, who had travelled through the North Portal border crossing at 8:18 p.m. on Saturday night and was en route to Estevan. He did not arrive at his destination that night.
He was travelling in a U-Haul with Arizona licence plates.
Cpl. Craig Park with the Estevan RCMP said after the Canada Border Services Agency confirmed that Blake had crossed the border into Canada, the RCMP patrolled the areas that Blake likely would have travelled through from North Portal to Estevan.
After that turned up nothing, the detachment reached out to the RCMP search and rescue team for an aircraft to check the main areas where Blake might have been.
“We also sent out a lookout (notice) to the surrounding detachment areas, as well as into Manitoba, to be on the lookout for the missing U-Haul van,” said Park.
When police found him, Blake appeared to be shaken up, and was taken to hospital for treatment. He was later released.
Park noted that once the RCMP issued the news release, the detachment received some calls from the public who thought they had seen Blake’s vehicle.
In the news release, it was stated that Blake had a health condition that caused confusion. Park didn’t speculate whether that was a cause in Blake’s disappearance.
