Brian Lush of Stephenville went missing in Ontario. His family and police are looking for help

A man wearing a blue sweater sitting inside a vehicle.
Brian Lush was last seen on surveillance video at a gas station in Summerstown on Wednesday. (Submitted by Ontario Provincial Police)

It has been nearly a week since Brian Lush disappeared somewhere in Ontario. 

He was last seen at a gas station in Summerstown, southeast of Ottawa near the border of Vermont, around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

That’s where his commercial transport truck was found along with his personal belongings, but there hasn’t been a trace of the 51-year-old man from Stephenville, N.L. since. 

“On surveillance video, right after 4:30 p.m., we see him get out of his truck, he walks around the front of the truck and then he walks out of camera range,” Bill Dickson, media relations coordinator with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) East Region, told CBC News on Tuesday.

“He was never seen again, as far as we know.” 

His brother, Craig Lush, calls the situation tough, difficult and very unusual. 

Craig Lush told CBC News his brother always remains in contact with his family and was headed east to Newfoundland.

“We never would have thought this would happen. To walk away from his truck is highly unusual and then to go without making contact for a long period of time is something that he has never done in the past,” he said.

“We’re holding it together. There’s a lot of us. There’s a large circle of family and friends in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, across the country really.”

A man wearing a blue sweater and blue pants walking into a store.
Brian Lush, seen here on surveillance video, was last seen on Wednesday. (Submitted by Ontario Provincial Police)

The OPP is actively searching for Brian Lush and is asking the public for dashcam footage from Highway 401 westbound, in the Boundary Road area near Cornwall, from Thursday between 10:30 a.m. ET and noon. 

Dickson said there may have been a few potential sightings since Wednesday, but they’re mostly partial matches of Lush’s clothing description along the highway and on a trail. 

The OPP is also asking hunters or others with trail cameras in the South Glengarry, South Stormont and Cornwall area to check for any possible sightings.

“We don’t know where he is. We don’t know why he wandered away from his truck. He left his personal belongings, the keys were left in the truck and from what we hear this is very out of character for him,” Dickson said.

“We’ve been assigning as many resources as possible.”

Those resources include an emergency response team that specializes in search and rescue, multiple K9 units, helicopters, drones and trained SAR volunteers.

Dickson said there’s no evidence of foul play. He said Brian Lush was was supposed to be in North Sydney to catch the ferry home on Friday night.

Brian Lush is described as being 5’10” with a medium build, 200 lbs, brown eyes and short brown hair. He was last seen wearing a blue hoodie, jeans and possibly a ball cap. 

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