Kristofer Shawn Couture -- Missing From Chilliwack Since 2019

Details from Canada's Missing**: 

"Kristofer Couture drove his vehicle from Alberta to the lower mainland in British Columbia to find work and had cut off ties from his family. Kristofer worked construction for a short period of time while living in his vehicle near Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Kristofer also frequented a gym in Burnaby, British Columbia. Kristofer was last seen leaving the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, British Columbia on January 26, 2019. His unoccupied vehicle was seen the following day parked at the Elk Mountain Trail in Chilliwack, British Columbia. Kristofer was reported missing on May 17, 2019 and his vehicle was found parked at the same location."

Missing Person: Kristofer Shawn Couture
Last-contact date: January 26th, 2019
The area where the MP was last seen: Chilliwack, British Columbia
Link to government source: MP @ Canada's Missing 

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Age at time of disappearance: 25 years old
Birthdate: Kristofer Shawn Couture was born between January 27th, 1993, and January 26th, 1994 based on his reported age at the last date of reported contact.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Scar: Below left eye (not clear in picture)
Height/weight: 5'8" according to a poster, 5'11" according to Canada's Missing; 194 pounds
Tattoos: Kristofer Shawn Couture did not have any tattoos associated with his profiles. If you know that the missing person did have tattoos, then please post a remark at the end of this blog post on the matter.

Popular hashtag: This blog post is part of a "trail hiking series" of posts on this blog. In these cases, the missing people are mentioned in conjunction with a trail or hiking area in reference to their disappearances. This blog post also has "car found person missing" as a tag. This tag describes situations where a person's vehicle is found but the owner or driver remains unaccounted for.

Kristofer Shawn Couture, a missing person, was last heard from on January 26th, 2019 when he was 25 years old. According to Canada's Missing, he was last seen leaving a hospital in New Westminster, the Royal Columbian Hospital.

Couture's case has been mentioned in conjunction with a fitness center that he frequented. This was the Goodlife center at 3433 North Road in Burnaby. The trail that his car was found near in Chilliwack is called the Elk Thurston Trail.

His vehicle was found on January 27th but it was not moved until May 6th. PleaseBringMeHome.com reports that the vehicle had been broken into between January 27th and May 6th. It's possible that clues, in this case, were thus interfered with.

This individual has now been missing for about 2 years as of the original publication date of this blog post. According to AllTrails.com, the "Elk Mountain Trail to Thurston Mountain is a 14.6 kilometer moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada that features a great forest setting and is rated as difficult."

If Kristofer Couture was using this trail on January 26th, 2019, then he was using it a little out season: "The trail is primarily used for hiking and running and is best used from July until October."

The following video was taken at the trail a few months after Kristofer's disappearance. His vehicle (2003 Saturn ION, light blue with Alberta plates) may, in fact, have been in the area as these Youtubers made their video. As you can see from the April 2019 video below, winter/spring hiking of this trail requires a willingness to brave difficult footing. Accordingly, someone who was hiking alone may have been partaking in a risky adventure.

Reviews of the Elk Thurston Mountain trail dated December 17th, 2018, and January 4th, 2019 both mention challenging if not dangerous conditions. Brittany Pawliuk reviewed the trail as follows about five weeks before Kristofer disappeared:

"Did this hike with my bestie today and I gotta say, waist deep snow is not a whole lot of fun to hike in, especially when you don’t have the proper gear! But it was an amazing experience, and an even more amazing view ☺️ 

We were hiking for a total of about 7 hours today. after you reach elk (which is straight ice on the way up be careful), it turns into knee high snow and then thigh high, and then waist high the closer you get to Thurston!! We made it within 1 km of Thurston and had to turn around due to the snow and not having proper gear and day light."

Furthermore, a review from about three weeks earlier mentioned carrying an "avalanche shovel." This reviewer claimed that spiked shoes were required for the trail in January of 2019. 

Trail hiking will always present some dangers. In Kristofer's case, we have to wonder if he was lost in an avalanche. I'm not sure if all of these occurrences are documented but I am guessing that they are not. However, if someone finds a reference to an avalanche in the area at about the time of his disappearance then what would be interesting to note.

A hiking expert who seemed to know something about the Mount Thurston Trail made these statements at besthikesbc.ca:

"Disclaimer: Winter hiking (snowshoeing) involves significantly more risk than summer hiking. Hikers should be prepared with appropriate education, training and equipment for all possibilities, including but not limited to avalanches. A mistake such as going off trail, getting lost or injured can be far more dangerous in winter than summer. You are responsible for your own safety, and while I am happy to give my opinion on this website as to the avalanche risk of a specific hike, do not take this as fact and please do your own research. Everybody has different risk tolerances and mine might be different to yours."

In addition to the chance that Kristofer Couture fell victim to an avalanche, in my opinion, we have to wonder what it means for someone to go missing when they were last seen at a hospital. This is a venue where people often receive news that they don't necessarily want to hear. It's possible that Kristofer was despondent.

While I did read that many volunteers and family searched the trail and the area where Kristofer's vehicle was found, he was also a very fit individual as evidenced by his dedication to going to the gym. If he was really fit, then he could have gone deep into the woods. That would serve to make the search area for this missing person quite large. 

The time of day that he was last seen is also relevant in this case, however, I couldn't find it. I note that on January 26th, 2019, the sunset in Chilliwack was at about 453pm.

As for similar cases at this blog, Kristofer's case reminded me of the case of Wynn Lindsey. Lindsey disappeared in Hawaii in 2015. He was a really fit individual whose car was found near a trailhead. The two cases are not related but I do like comparing and contrasting similar cases as food for thought.

Please share this article to social media using hashtags that are related to where the missing person went missing from, which is Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Author: Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.

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Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Text might be paraphrased. If taken verbatim, then grammar or spelling errors are not necessarily corrected from original sources.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing persons case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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