Search for missing Australian hiker ongoing in Cape Breton Highlands National Park

Missing hiker Denise Ann Williams is pictured. (Nova Scotia RCMP)

Police say the search for a missing Australian hiker is ongoing in Cape Breton Highlands National Park Thursday.

Inverness County District RCMP received a report around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday that a person believed to be hiking in the park was missing.

Police say 62-year-old Denise Ann Williams of Australia was last heard from on April 15 when she indicated she was travelling to Chéticamp.

“Her rental vehicle, a Nissan Sentra, was located at the Parks Canada Visitor Centre near the Acadian Trail head,” said the RCMP in a news release Thursday.

Police launched a search on Tuesday, with multiple agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources Air Services, Ground Search and Rescue and Parks Canada, involved. The search has been ongoing since then.

Williams is described as five-foot-four with greyish-blonde, shoulder-length hair. She is believed to have been wearing a dark winter jacket, a powder blue toque with “Antarctica” written on it, an orange and blue scarf, and glasses.

Police are asking anyone who encountered Williams in or around Cape Breton Highlands National Park to contact Inverness County District RCMP at 902-258-2213.

According to Parks Canada, Cape Breton Highlands National Park covers 950 square kilometres, covering roughly 20 per cent of northern Cape Breton. There are 26 hiking trails within the park.

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