PORT ANGELES — A statewide search continued Saturday for a former Canadian Olympic rowing athlete who was last seen boarding the MV Coho ferry in Victoria as it left for Port Angeles on Tuesday.
Victoria police spokesman Bowen Osoko said Saturday that Harold Backer, 52, an avid Victoria bicyclist, disappeared after telling his family he was going out for a bike ride.
In Port Angeles, Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said authorities were certain Backer boarded the Coho, registering with Canadian and U.S. border officials.
They are “85 percent certain” that a bicyclist videotaped as he left the ferry was Backer, Smith said.
“We can’t absolutely confirm that he got off the boat.”
Popular destinations
State Patrol spokesman Trooper Mark Hodgson said Friday that the agency was focusing search efforts on popular biking destinations.
“If we see something that looks like where cyclists might be, we are certainly going to check up on that,” Hodgson said.
A family friend, Ellen Frisch of Victoria, said Victoria police — the lead agency in the search for Backer — were “actively investigating other tips that have come in and could be looking as far away as Seattle.”
Osoko said the Selkirk, Manitoba, native did not tell family members he was taking the ferry to Port Angeles and did not return home.
Osoko said there was neither an indication of foul play nor any hint of why Backer might have disappeared voluntarily.
Family puzzled
“We’re not sure why he got on the ferry,” Osoko said. “His behavior is very out-of-the-ordinary, from what his family told us.
“As you could imagine, they are very worried. They really need to know that he’s safe.”
A report of a cyclist on Hurricane Ridge Road was investigated by Olympic National Park authorities, but the man was found to have worn clothing dissimilar to the jersey and pants Baker wore when he left home.
On Wednesday, Port Angeles police made the routine checks for a missing person who might be injured or in distress, including a survey of area motels and the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center.
“Nothing we can determine has him staying in Port Angeles,” Smith said, adding that “an adult would have to want to be found.”
Backer’s description
Backer is described as a 6-foot, 3-inch Caucasian man with a medium build who weighs 200 to 220 pounds.
He has green eyes and graying hair.
Osoko said Backer would be riding his black Cannondale road bike.
Anyone who sees Backer is asked to call 9-1-1.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Victoria police at 250-995-7654.
Attempts to reach Backer’s wife, Elizabeth Hardy, were unsuccessful.
Steve Frisch, who was a member with Backer on the Canadian National Rowing Team 25 years ago, visited Port Angeles on Friday to search Hurricane Ridge Road, said his wife, Ellen Frisch.
The man sighted at Hurricane Ridge was wearing yellow, while the missing cyclist wore a red cycling jersey and black cycling pants and possibly carried a black backpack.
Backer competed in rowing events in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics, finishing fifth in the men’s coxed pairs in 1984 in Los Angeles, according to www.sports-reference.com.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.
