The family of missing Merritt area rancher Ben Tyner has put up a $15,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction for those responsible for his death. Two years to the day that Tyner disappeared, his family has released an emotional video appealing for answers to the sudden disappearance of their son.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP
January 26, 2021 - 9:55 AM
The family of missing Merritt area rancher Ben Tyner has put up a $15,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction for those responsible for his death.
Two years to the day that Tyner disappeared, his family has released an emotional video appealing for answers to the sudden disappearance of their son.
On Jan. 26, 2019, Tyner's riderless horse was found on a logging road in the Merritt area off Highway 97 near Winnie Flats. A large-scale search and rescue operation commenced, and two months later police confirmed they believed the disappearance to be suspicious.
Ben Tyner is shown in an RCMP handout photo.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP
"The investigation into the disappearance of Ben Tyner continues to be diligently led by the RCMP Southeast District Major Crime Unit. To date, numerous investigational avenues have been explored, and in order to protect the ongoing investigation, police are unable to share those findings publicly at this time. However, based on those findings, major crime investigators have reason to believe that criminality was involved in Ben Tyner's disappearance, and is the victim of a homicide," RCMP Southeast District Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey said in a media release, Jan. 26.
In the family's video shared by the RCMP, Tyner's father Richard says their son's disappearance has dramatically affected them and they continue to suffer from the unexplained loss.
"The last two years have been filled with horrendous heartache, continued hope and many, many prayers. Ben is constantly in our daily lives- through tending his horses and cattle and having his dog Sioux, trail beside us. The working pens on the Ranch are known as Ben's Pen's because he built them. His friends stay in touch with us through phone calls and visits. Two scholarships have been started in his name," Richard says in the video.
The RCMP says the $15,000 private reward is offered and will be managed solely by the Tyner family, and not the RCMP.
Anyone with any information is urged to call their local RCMP, or the Southeast District Major Crime Unit information line at 1-877-987-8477 or B.C. Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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