Search called off for Australian hiker missing in rugged Canadian national park

Police suspend ‘extensive’ six-day air and ground search in Nova Scotia, citing ‘no new information’ Teams in eastern Canada have called off an “extensive” six-day air and ground search of a rugged park for a missing Australian hiker. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said this week it had suspended operations after an effort involving dogs, 100 people, aircraft and ground crews yielded “no new information” in the whereabouts of Denise Ann Willams. Williams, 62, has not been heard from since mid April, when she ventured into the Cape Breton Highlands national park. The park, which spans more than 360 square miles, is one of the largest swaths of protected wilderness in the province of Nova Scotia. Investigators found Williams’ rental car near the head of the Acadian Trail, a 5-mile (8km) loop that gives hikers “panoramic views of the Acadian coastline, the Chéticamp river valley and the park’s highland interior”. The landscape is riddled with steep cliffs, deep river canyons and extensive boggy areas. Trails can quickly drop into ravines and dense boreal forest. A sign on the Acadian Trail warns hikers to “be on the lookout for black bear and moose”. In 2009, Taylor Mitchell