Organizers of a search this weekend in Surrey's Green Timbers Park are crossing their fingers it will end with the safe-and-sound discovery of a brain-injured man missing since May 11.
Sylvia Hoeree – co-ordinator of Semiahmoo House Society's Acquired Brain Injury Services – said Thursday she is worried that Daryl Ryzak, 59, may have fallen in the park, which is the last place he was known to be heading.
"I've seen some struggles going on, a little bit of weakness," she said. "There's really been no leads, so that's the first place I'm going to look."
Ryzak – who was brain-injured in a 2010 assault – was reported missing after he failed to return from an outing to the park, located near 100 Avenue and 148 Street. He left his home in the Whalley area around 4:30 p.m.
"He left with the intent that he was returning," Hoeree said, noting that Ryzak has a bus pass. "The care provider said to me that he was going to Green Timbers and he was to be home within a few hours."
Ryzak is known to suffer from mental-health issues and is in need of medication.
Hoeree said Ryzak's plight has received little attention in the media to date, and there have been no solid leads. He is a regular attendee of the close-knit Semiahmoo House Society ABI program, which operates out of Newton.
Ryzak is described as a five-foot-11, 200-pound Caucasian, with greying hair, green eyes and a missing tooth on his upper right side. He was last seen wearing a blue baseball cap, jeans and a long-sleeve green shirt, and may be carrying a blue backpack containing art supplies and a fishing rod.
Hoeree said SHS staff, program participants and members of Ryzak's family are planning to meet at Green Timbers Park at 8 a.m. Saturday (May 18) to search for a man she described as someone who appreciates nature, and is extremely imaginative, kind and gentle.
Those wanting to help are asked to meet in the parking lot off of 100 Avenue, where searchers will set out in groups of five, with a focus on the area around the lake.