HALIFAX -- A member of the Canadian Armed Forces who's been missing since last weekend is not in the area surrounding 12 Wing Shearwater, according to members of the Halifax Regional Search and Rescue team.
Leading Seaman Benoit Bilodeau, 48, from 12 Wing Shearwater was last seen walking near a bus stop in front of the base last Saturday afternoon.
Bilodeau, who lives on base at Shearwater but works on the dockyard, was reported missing when he failed to show up for work on Monday morning.
"This is very out of character for Leading Seaman Benoit Bilodeau," said Cpt. Chris Sutherland, base commander of CFB Halifax. "Benny is very reliable."
Tony Rodgers, spokesman with the Halifax Regional Search and Rescue team said his team's search will likely end Sunday night if nothing is found.
The RCMP and the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service will continue to search for Bilodeau.
"We are excluding areas, every time one of these searchers takes a step it excludes an area," said Cpl. Tyson Springstead, criminal investigator with the National Investigation Service.
"We're getting a steady amount of tips, we're not over burdened by any means, but we're still getting tips as of today."
Officials said about 80 people from Halifax Regional, Hants County, and South Shore Search and Rescue, as well as the RCMP, combed the area for most of the weekend.
Sutherland said Bilodeau's friends and colleagues are on "hot standby" if assistance is required.
At this point the search has come up dry save for a cell phone ping from Nov. 24 that helped reel in the search to an area of three square kilometres surrounding the base.
