The search for a missing five-year-old autistic boy entered its fourth day on Wednesday as responders in southwestern Alberta expanded their target area.Darius Macdougall vanished on Sunday after he did not return from a walk with six family members — all of whom were confirmed by the RCMP to be “young” — to their campsite near Island Lake Campground, about four kilometres south of Crowsnest Pass and roughly 250 kilometres south of Calgary. Those youngster are now being quizzed by RCMP detectives.Darious was last seen within a kilometre of the family’s site.Searchers have been gradually expanding their target area since his disappearance. Adam Kennedy of Search and Rescue Alberta said crews are now pushing the original three-kilometre search radius out to 6.6 kilometres.“Last night, search teams continued ground searches, supported by one RCMP helicopter, two dogs from the Canadian Search Dog Association, and multiple drones,” Kennedy told reporters on Wednesday.“We’re working under the assumption that Darius will be found alive.”Kennedy said roughly 100 people are currently involved in the effort, including Alberta and B.C. search and rescue teams, RCMP dog units, Civil Air Search and Rescue, Fish and Wildlife officers, sheriffs, and support from the Salvation Army..UPDATED: Massive search launched after five-year-old boy goes missing near Crowsnest Pass.Kennedy said the Canadian Armed Forces are in discussions with Alberta’s emergency coordination centre in Leduc about whether they can provide additional support.Searchers have also been investigating nearby waterways in the hopes of finding clues.“We do have swift water teams searching some of the waterways again today,” Kennedy said, stating that some of those waterways have been searched up to three times to ensure nothing has been missed.“The underwater search team has been in and searched the bodies of water in the search area. They were very confident in their detection ability and quite certain that Darius was not there. All bodies of water at this point have been or are being searched.”While some members of the public have asked why an Amber Alert has not been issued, police note that Darius was not abducted but wandered away.“At this point, there is no reason to believe that foul play is involved or that there was an abduction,” RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney said.Authorities have also cautioned volunteers against entering the search area, citing both safety risks and the possibility of disturbing clues.“Every clue matters, and trained teams are working to make sure we don’t miss anything that could help bring [Darius] home," Kennedy said.
