Paul Alexander Banko planned to visit the islands off Rivière-du-Loup. (File photo)
Despite the suspension of air and sea searches that were being carried out to find Paul Alexander Banko, a kayaker who has been missing for a week now, his relatives are not giving up and still hope to find him safe and sound.< /p>
The brother of the missing kayaker, Philippe Banko, says he arrived in Rivière-du-Loup with his mother on Tuesday afternoon.
He tries to find a local resident with a boat that could take them to the islands off Rivière-du-Loup, because that is where Paul Alexander Banko was planning to go.
Searches in this area have been made over the past few days by air, on the ground and at sea, but without success.
Philippe Banko points out that the missing person had new equipment , including the kayak he had bought the day of his departure. Mr. Banko was to go to one of the islands off Notre-Dame-du-Portage to observe the insects. He planned to spend five to six days on one of these islands.
Paul Alexander Banko was not used to sea kayaking, said one of his friends, Pierre-Olivier Ouellet, in an interview on Same frequency. However, he traveled extensively, says Mr. Ouellet, and has made numerous expeditions at sea.
“ He wasn't someone who kayaked regularly, but he was always on the banks of a body of water. […] He is someone who knows a lot about the marine environment. I still have hope that he is alive. »
— Pierre-Olivier Ouellet, friend of Paul Alexander Banko
For his part, Philippe Banko adds that given the projected length of his brother's stay, he had the necessary equipment and possibly enough food.
So far no equipment that belonged to the kayaker has been found, suggesting that he may still be alive , hope his loved ones.
“We did not find a single object, not a sea kayak. Yet it is an object that is still quite large, which normally would not stall. Even that object has not been discovered, has not been seen anywhere. »
— Claude Doiron, Sergeant of the Sûreté du Québec
Even if the aerial and sea searches are suspended, the police are still asking for the help of the population in order to report elements that would allow the investigation to progress.
