The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor The search for a missing Descham-bault Lake man intensified Wednesday with a police dog and search and rescue team deployed. Albert Justin Custer, 28, had not been seen since Tuesday night when he and seven family members went picking mushrooms five kilometres south of Highway 106, outside Deschambault Lake. At one point, all family members except Custer went into the woods in search of more mushrooms, leaving him alone to clean his mushrooms with vehicles parked along a trail. The group returned to their vehicles when they noticed a storm heading into the area, but Custer was nowhere to be seen. They spent about an hour searching for him, but the ferocity of the storm forced them to retreat inside their vehicles. They honked their horns, hoping Custer would return. Disoriented? Since Custer didn't have keys to any of the vehicles, it is believed he may have sought shelter from the storm in the woods and became disoriented. Some members of the family returned to Deschambault Lake to search in case Custer got a ride back to the village. Again, there was no sign of him. RCMP were informed of Custer's disappearance around 11 p.m. Tuesday. Shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday, they announced that the RCMP police dog service from Meadow Lake was on scene, with the RCMP Search and Rescue team to be in the area soon. Police said the area is very remote, with limited cell and police radio coverage. Custer is described as 5 ft. 7 in. tall and slim. He has brown eyes, black hair, and a mustache and goatee. He was last seen wearing a black sleeveless shirt, blue jeans and a black hat. Foul play was not suspected. Police ask anyone who was traveling through the area and may have seen Custer to contact the Deschambault detachment at 306-638-2392 or Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
