More than three months after he walked away from a hospital in the B.C.'s Kootenays without any money or identification, four people on Vancouver Island believe they've seen Owen Rooney.
The missing 24-year-old Australian traveller was last seen in Grand Forks on Aug. 14. After receiving treatment at a hospital, he bought a bus ticket to Kelowna, but left the station before his Greyhound bus departed.
Police took the unusual step of releasing a dramatic reenactment of his last known steps two weeks ago because there have been so few leads in his missing person's case.
Now, police on Vancouver Island have launched an investigation because of four credible sightings dating back to the beginning of the month. In three cases, the man was trying to sell homemade dream catchers door-to-door, and was accompanied by other people.
The first sighting happened in Nanaimo on Nov. 5., when a woman reported seeing said Rooney selling the homemade crafts with a man with dreadlocks and a Jamaican accent.
Four days later, Saanich police received a report of a man matching Owen's description.
The next day, a business owner in Parksville told police he sold her a dream catcher at her office.
Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Gary O'Brien said they've assigned a plainclothes unit to investigate, starting with checking cheap hotels and hostels in the area.
"A woman who insists she saw him said he looks in good health, he's polite, looks like he's staying somewhere inside. If he sells one of these crafts he could have money for a day or two, and the hostels are cheap."
Adeline Setterfield said Rooney came into her office in October trying to hawk his wares. She alerted police yesterday after seeing his picture on television.
‘When I saw his face it was like ‘bingo' – and he had an Australian accent," she told ctvbc.ca from her downtown Nanaimo office.
Setterfield said Rooney looked scruffy and needed a haircut, but otherwise seemed okay. She said the man told her he was travelling for "a cultural experience" and trying to save money.
Rooney's parents abandoned their businesses in Australia and came to Canada in August in hopes of finding their missing son. They could not be reached for comment Friday.
Rooney is 5-9 tall, and weighs 161 pounds. He has short brown hair and brown eyes. He also has two tattoos: one on his shoulder, about three inches in diameter, is a circle with a Celtic star around it. The other is a logo of a triangle with a kangaroo on his calf.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP at 250–754-2345 or Crime Stoppers.
