News release
Update: Extensive search for missing hiker suspended
May 4, 2026
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Cheticamp, Nova Scotia
From: Nova Scotia RCMP
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The search for a missing hiker in Cape Breton Highlands National Park has been suspended following an extensive six-day air and ground search of the area.
On April 28, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Inverness County District RCMP received a report of a missing person. Denise Ann Williams, 62, from Australia, was last heard from on April 15 when she indicated she was travelling to Cheticamp. Her rental vehicle, a Nissan Sentra, was located at the Parks Canada Visitor Centre near the Acadian Trail head.
Search efforts involving RCMP and Department of Natural Resources Air Services, RCMP Police Dog Services, multiple ground search and rescue teams, Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, Parks Canada, Nova Scotia Public Safety Field Communications, and EHS Emergency Preparedness and Special Operations, began on April 28. The search for Williams continued through May 3.
No further search activity is planned at this time.
Williams is described as 5-foot-4 with greyish blonde, shoulder-length hair. She’s 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.
Anyone who may have encountered Williams in or around the Cape Breton Highlands National Park is asked to contact Inverness County District RCMP at 902-258-2213. To remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips app.
File #: 2026-553463