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Remains of missing NSW man found in Canada

The remains of missing NSW man Owen Rooney have been found in Canada, seven years after he was last seen near a hospital in British Colombia.

Owen Rooney
The body of Australian Owen Rooney has been found in Canada seven years after he went missing. (AAP)

The remains of missing NSW south coast man Owen Rooney have been found in Canada seven years after he disappeared.

The Milton man was last seen when he left the Boundary Hospital in Grand Forks, British Colombia on August 14, 2010.

The hospital is three kilometres from where his remains were reportedly found.

His mother, Sharron Rooney, shared the news on Facebook saying DNA results confirmed it was her son, who was 24 when he vanished.

"We have come together as a family to receive the news via a phone appointment, the DNA results have confirmed it is our Owen," she wrote on the Help Find Owen Rooney Facebook page.

"Emotionally digesting this news is a challenge. We take solace in the fact that we can bring him home to us."

Ms Rooney thanked the Grand Forks Search and Rescue for their "bravery and diligence" in finding his body.

The 24-year-old's disappearance was seen as "strange" and "left-field" by his mother, who in 2010 said he was hallucinating when he left the hospital.

Mr Rooney had been badly beaten and was confused when he checked into the hospital in Grand Forks on August 14.

His parents and sister flew to Canada in 2010 to try and find him after receiving multiple reports of possible sightings - none of which brought them closer to finding out what happened.

Owen Rooney had worked at a ski resort in British Colombia for the two winters before he disappeared, and stayed in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley, east of Vancouver, for the summer.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told AAP it was providing consular assistance to the family.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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