Search Continues for Missing 81-Year-Old Great Divide Trail Hiker in Waterton

An extensive search is underway in and around Waterton Lakes National Park after an experienced 81-year-old hiker failed to complete one of Canada's most iconic long-distance trails, prompting a multi-agency effort across rugged backcountry terrain.

Bob Toothill of Golden, B.C., was reported missing after he failed to arrive at a planned pickup point in Coleman after hiking Section A of the Great Divide Trail, a 145-kilometre route that begins at the U.S.-Canada border and winds north through Waterton before entering the remote Castle region.

Parks Canada first issued a public appeal for information on July 25, saying Toothill had last been seen at the Rowe Lakes trailhead in Waterton and had been expected to arrive in Coleman on July 22.

Search and rescue operations began after he failed to arrive.

On July 26, Parks Canada said search teams were concentrating efforts in the western portion of Waterton Lakes National Park, while Southwest Alberta Regional Search and Rescue searched areas outside the park. Aircraft were also being used to assist the operation.

By July 27, officials said the search had been narrowed to a specific area within the park, though they did not identify the location publicly.

At every stage of the operation, Parks Canada has urged the public not to organize independent searches, warning that the mountainous terrain is remote, rugged and potentially dangerous.

"The most helpful thing the public can do at this time is share official social media posts and information about the search," Parks Canada said in an update. "We discourage volunteer searchers."

Toothill's daughter, Natalie Neustaedter, later shared that searchers had located her father's backpack in Tamarack Basin, allowing crews to focus their efforts more precisely. She said poor flying conditions prevented a helicopter from transporting a search team into the area, so a two-person ground team was sent in. Parks Canada has not publicly confirmed the discovery of the backpack.

Neustaedter described her father as "an avid outdoorsman and fitter than most 30-year-olds."

According to her account, Toothill began his hike on July 16 at the Alderson Carthew Summit trailhead. He checked into the Waterton Townsite Campground on July 18 before taking a shuttle to the Rowe Lakes trailhead the following morning.

She said two hikers who rode the shuttle with him planned to stay at Lone Lake that night and expected Toothill to arrive there, but he never did.

Neustaedter also said her father phoned family members during the trip on July 17 to report that hikers had been charged by a grizzly bear and that he had also encountered a sow with cubs. She stressed there is no evidence those encounters are connected to his disappearance.

Parks Canada has an active wildlife warning in effect for the Rowe Lakes Trail, first issued July 5 after a grizzly bear charged a large group of people in the area. The warning remains in place, advising visitors to use special caution while travelling through the area.

Although the Great Divide Trail spans more than 1,100 kilometres from Waterton Lakes National Park to Kakwa Provincial Park near the Alberta and British Columbia border, its opening section is widely regarded as both one of its most scenic and one of its most physically demanding.

Section A stretches roughly 145 kilometres from the international border to Highway 3 near Coleman, climbing and descending nearly 12,000 metres over the course of the route. The Great Divide Trail Association estimates it typically takes hikers between four and eight days to complete, depending on pace.

The Waterton portion follows established trails through the national park before reaching Cameron Lake, where hikers choose between the maintained Tamarack Trail and the far more rugged Mount Rowe alternate. Both eventually converge near Sage Pass before the trail leaves the park and enters increasingly isolated backcountry.

The maintained Tamarack route passes through Rowe Meadows, climbs over Lineham Ridge, one of the highest points on the entire Great Divide Trail, and continues past Lone and Twin Lakes before leaving Waterton.

While the park's trail network is generally well marked, much of the surrounding landscape was transformed by the 2017 Kenow wildfire, leaving large stretches exposed to the elements. The area is also recognized as prime grizzly bear habitat, and Parks Canada routinely advises hikers to carry bear spray, travel in groups when possible and remain alert for wildlife activity.

Anyone with information about Toothill's whereabouts, or who was hiking Section A of the Great Divide Trail after July 19 and may have seen him, is asked to contact Parks Canada at 1-855-727-6825, extension 2.