Crowsnest Pass, Alberta — Nearly two months after 6-year-old Darius Macdougall vanished during a family camping trip in the rugged terrain of southwestern Alberta, his mother Maegan Bernicky is breaking her silence with a gut-wrenching plea that has left communities across Canada in collective anguish. In an exclusive interview with Global News on November 10, 2025, Bernicky, her voice trembling with a mix of grief and frustration, choked back tears as she shared, “I’m really disappointed that the police didn’t make an effort to find my son. I want the police to do more because my son is still out there.” The words, raw and unfiltered, underscore the family’s unrelenting hope for a miracle amid a search that has gripped the nation and exposed the harsh realities of missing child investigations in remote wilderness areas.

Darius disappeared on September 21, 2025, during a family outing near Island Lake Campground in the Livingstone Public Land Use Zone, south of Crowsnest Pass. The autistic boy, described as 4 feet tall with short brown hair, was last seen wearing a blue-grey hoodie and sweatpants, wandering off with five young relatives from the family’s Lethbridge home. What began as a routine walk turned into a parent’s worst nightmare when Darius didn’t return, prompting an immediate 911 call from his grandmother. “We searched long into the night the first day, hoping for a quick resolve to a very scary incident,” Bernicky recounted, her eyes welling as she recalled the initial panic.

The search effort was massive, involving over 225 personnel from Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, including RCMP tactical teams, drones, helicopters, K-9 units, and underwater divers scouring 22 square kilometers of treacherous terrain marked by steep elevation changes, fast-flowing streams, and dense deadfall. Adam Kennedy from Search and Rescue Alberta described the operation as a “shoulder-to-shoulder” push, with specialized crews fine-tuned for neurodivergence—avoiding loud noises that might scare Darius away. Yet, despite the exhaustive measures, the official search was scaled back after 11 days on October 1, 2025, with RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney stating survivability odds had dropped below 5%, shifting focus to investigation while maintaining “no plans to scale back” ground efforts.

Bernicky’s frustration stems from perceived gaps: no immediate Amber Alert, roads not closed promptly, and a lack of broader public appeals in those critical first hours. “When a boy goes missing near a highway, wooded area, and border, we need every tool on the table,” she said, echoing a petition launched by friend Ronnie DeGagne called “Darius’s Law,” which seeks to modernize Alberta’s Amber Alert framework for high-risk cases, garnering 13,200 signatures. “I was a wreck when they said he was presumed dead—I just lost my mind,” Bernicky admitted, clinging to hope despite the grim statistics.

The family, supported by the “Bring Darius Home” Facebook page with 15,000 followers, has raised $75,000 for autism awareness and continues independent searches. “My son is still out there,” Bernicky insisted, her plea a clarion call for renewed action. As winter approaches, the Macdougalls’ story reminds us: In the face of unimaginable loss, a mother’s love never searches in vain.