As most of you are aware, Rick Hagen (Butch's younger brother and our neighbor growing up in Bountiful) went on a fishing trip up to Vancouver Island, BC, with a friend the 2nd week of July. On the 14th of July, he became very sick on the boat, possibly from a reaction to a sea sickness patch, and got very disoriented and jumped off the boat. He swam to the shore of a small island safely, but refused to get back on the friend's boat. The Coast Guard was called out and they were able to pick him up. Because of his condition (he was hallucinating, confused, and extremely agitated) they decided to take him to a hospital in Port Alberni, BC on Vancouver Island to be examined by the doctor. He was taken to the West Coast General Hospital early in the morning of the 15th. He was seen by a nurse and a doctor and found to be ok and was discharged about 6:30 am that same morning. The Supervisor of the Emergency Room, Margie, talked with him and offered him something to eat before he was discharged. She said he declined and said he would walk downtown and find something. Rick's friend, Paul (the owner of the boat), had damaged the prop on the boat looking for him and as such, did not make it to the hospital until after Rick was released. By then, he was nowhere to be found. Paul searched all over town with the help of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) with no success. Butch and Donna were notified and they have been working ever since with all the local authorities in Port Alberni to locate Rick. They ran news stories, had pictures posted, even had the local TV station air the story; all with no success.
Now let me fast forward to this week: Dave, Butch and I made arrangements and traveled up to Port Alberni, BC on Tuesday the 29th. Our plan was to continue the search for 3 days and post flyers, talk to everyone involved, and find something that would help with Rick's safe return. We notified the local authorities of our plans and they met with us as soon as we arrived. We posted flyers everywhere you can imagine around Port Alberni and 2 other towns in the area. We met with and distributed flyers to the newspaper, the hospital, the police, the coast guard, the store clerks, the tavern owners, the golf courses, the liquor stores, the hostels, the soup kitchens and everywhere else we could cover while we were there. During the course of our investigation, we found out lots of bits of information that seemed to lead us to the next place to look. The people were
very gracious and genuinely concerned and offered assistance to us wherever we went.
When we met with the Police upon arriving in town, a Detective spent 1.5 hours interviewing Butch. He took finger prints and a blood sample for DNA to have on file just in case. During the course of the interview, he told Butch that a body had been found but no positive ID or confirmation of who it was, or even if it was a male or a female. It had been sent to a coroner's office in Vancouver to do forensic pathology work and was not complete yet. Even with this news, we spent the next 2 days searching all the areas and more, as I mentioned above.
As we were driving into the airport in Seattle to catch our flight home on Thursday, I received a phone call from Constable Chris Freed of the RCMP in Port Alberni. He is the Detective that had been on the case. He asked to talk to Butch so we pulled over, as Butch was driving at the time. He told Butch that a positive ID had been made for the body from a fingerprint that they had received from the Davis County Sheriff's office. They found the body on the 21st of August about 15 kilometers out of town in the woods by a recreation area called Sproat Lake. They estimated that it had been there for several weeks but had found no evidence of foul play. Because of the time frame, and the animal activity, it was mostly skeletal remains. They conducted a search with dogs and a search and rescue team of the area as part of the investigation. With him, they found his shoes, a collar of his shirt, a piece of his jeans, a piece of his fishing license, and a piece of his birth certificate. They did not find his back pack, his wallet or any positive ID. As I mentioned, they were able to match one fingerprint in the lab, and received that information on the morning that they called us at the airport. Butch felt it was best to continue home with the news and let his Mother know as soon as possible. He called her and asked her to stay up so we could catch her up on the results of the trip that evening. We stopped at Donna's on the way home from the airport and Butch told her the unfortunate news. Dave and Butch gave Donna a blessing that evening and we stayed and talked with her and her brother, Jerry, who came over as soon as Donna called him.
I apologize to any that feel this is an inappropriate way to share such sad news but felt it was necessary to expedite the information to the family as soon as possible. Rick loved the outdoors and loved to hike and fish. He passed away in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen doing what he loved to do most. He had an infectious smile and I will always remember him on the golf course at Valley View where he worked for the last 16 years.
I want to express my love to all of you that read this and let you know that it was confirmed to me personally two days ago in the airport that Rick is in the loving care of our Father in Heaven. I know now there is nothing greater in this life that the moment we are greeted back into the loving arms of our Maker where we can find peace.
With love, Mark.
P.S. If you feel inclined to call, Butch's number is 801-544-5059 or cell: 801-699-6300 and Donna's number is 801-295-8909
