Photo courtesy: RCMP
Missing person

The search for a man and his dog remains active

Jan 30, 2025 | 8:33 AM

CHETWYND — The search for James Barnes, a man who was reported missing to Fort St. John RCMP on October 18, 2024 just before 11 p.m.,remains active.

RCMP say Barnes was reported missing after failing to return home from a hunting trip earlier that day. On October 19 RCMP were notified that there was reason to believe James may have been in the Chetwynd area. James had left home in his pickup with his dog Murphy, a golden retriever. The truck was later found but James and Murphy were not in the truck.

A golden retriever, similar in appearance to Murphy, was found in the Halfway River area near Fort St. John. Through DNA testing it was determined that this dog was not Murphy.

James Joseph Edmund Barnes is described as:

  • 28 years old
  • 5’ 11 (180 cm)
  • 201 lbs (91 kg)
  • Brown hair
  • Brown eyes
  • Big moustache
  • Last seen wearing a green/blue TC Energy ball cap, green or blue hoodie and jeans.
  • Murphy is an 18-month-old male golden retriever with no collar.

Mounties are still looking for anyone in the public that might have seen James, his truck or Murphy on October 18, the day he was last seen or was in the Groundbirch area on road 269 road from Highway 97S and the Groundbirch Forest Service Road.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of James Barnes and Murphy, or saw them and the vehicle back in October, you are asked to call Chetwynd RCMP at 250-788-9221.

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