Found Deceased Canada - Thomas Billings, 22, Vancouver, 25 Nov 2013 - British tourist

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Sillybilly

Sillybilly

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Above images from following articles:

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Van...nformation+missing+tourist/9242549/story.html

Tom Billings, 22, was last seen on the morning of Nov. 25 in the 1400-block East Broadway.

Police said he was planning to go to the United States at the end of November before returning home to England on Dec. 7.

But his family and friends have not heard from him and are concerned, said police.

The disappearance is “completely out of character,” according to police investigators.
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http://www.vancouverobserver.com/ci...ng-help-vancouver-police-find-british-tourist

Tom is 22 years old and described as white, 5’7″ tall, 160 lbs., with blonde short hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a black jacket and grey military style pants.
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Anyone with information is asked to call Vancouver police at 604-717-3321.
 
Where was Tom staying in Vancouver? Did he have access to a vehicle?

He is apparently an avid hiker. If he planned to go hiking in the North Shore mountains, he would need transportation to get there and appropriate dress and gear for this time of year.

The 1400 block of E. Broadway is a lot of apartment buildings with only a couple of commercial operations, one of which is an Army & Navy Surplus store. I'm taking a wilda$$ guess that establishment is where he was last seen.
 
Although LE doesn't have a specific location or starting point that he was interested in hiking in the North Shore mountains, I think most tourist, hiking enthusiasts would hear about the popular Grouse Grind.

Grouse Mountain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Public transportation is available to The Grind. It is one of the top 10 most dangerous hikes in the world.
 
He is supposed to return to England Dec. 7… so there is still hope he could return home as planned?

He has a great smile. I hope he is able to return home.
 
I take it there wasn't any record of him actually crossing into the US. I live in the county that borders Canada and they check everyone's passport coming through the borders here.
 
sillybilly said:
Where was Tom staying in Vancouver? Did he have access to a vehicle?

He is apparently an avid hiker. If he planned to go hiking in the North Shore mountains, he would need transportation to get there and appropriate dress and gear for this time of year.

The 1400 block of E. Broadway is a lot of apartment buildings with only a couple of commercial operations, one of which is an Army & Navy Surplus store. I'm taking a wilda$$ guess that establishment is where he was last seen.
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The news story I watched said he was staying at an apartment in the 1400 block of E. Broadway where he was last seen (at 9am, Nov 25th). No mention of access to a vehicle but it did say he left quite a few of his things behind which is why they still think he is in the area.
 
So sad that Tom is still missing.

I am afraid that someone decided to take advantage of a tourist who was traveling alone and may have seemed vulnerable.

I will hope for the best but I am afraid that Tom has met with foul play.
 
Dixie811 said:
So sad that Tom is still missing.

I am afraid that someone decided to take advantage of a tourist who was traveling alone and may have seemed vulnerable.

I will hope for the best but I am afraid that Tom has met with foul play.
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what makes you think that? I am thinking more along the lines of him falling or injuring himself while being in the wilderness.
 
LoyalSleuth said:
what makes you think that? I am thinking more along the lines of him falling or injuring himself while being in the wilderness.
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BBM- Equally possible! Certainly.

I just feel that a tourist traveling by himself in a foreign country is very vulnerable. It was likely obvious to anyone that he met that he was a foreigner, due to accent. It also wouldn't be difficult to realize that Tom was traveling alone-- especially if he is a friendly guy who engages in conversation with people he meets. I think he was vulnerable to foul play because a predator who spent a few minutes engaging in conversation with Tom would realize that Tom's loved ones were in another country and he would not be noticed as missing right away. I know it is less common for young men to be attacked than young women, but it certainly happens.

But you are right, becoming injured while hiking is another possible scenario!
 
Are there any bodies of water near where Tom was staying? Here in the US it seems SO OFTEN when a young man Tom's age goes missing he is found in water! Often after a night out. Would love to know more details about Tom's activities while in Vancouver.
 
According to his Dad's presser, apparently there was a credible sighting of Tom at Delaney's coffee shop on Lynn Valley Road. There was another reported sighting on Grouse Mountain but it has been somewhat discounted because the tipster said Tom had a backpack (when he had not taken his backpack with him).

Looking at Delaney's on the map and considering that Tom would have likely taken public transportation, I'm curious about his stopping at that point on the Lynn Canyon Road. I therefore think it is possible that he walked along Ross Road up into the Lynn Canyon Park. Otherwise, I can' really think why he would have stopped at that point if his destination was in fact further up into the North Shore mountains.

I don't have a lot of time right now to do a screen shot, etc. but if you do a google map search using <delaney's "lynn valley road"> minus the brackets, I think you'll see what I mean.
 
Where in the US was he planning on going?
 
omg did anyone notice the couchsurfing. org connection?
 
LadyL said:
omg did anyone notice the couchsurfing. org connection?
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I didn't see it, can you post what it is?

I know a female friend in her early twenties who used the couch surfing site when traveling alone in Europe-- seemed like there would be some safety concerns!
 
Dixie811 said:
I didn't see it, can you post what it is?

I know a female friend in her early twenties who used the couch surfing site when traveling alone in Europe-- seemed like there would be some safety concerns!
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Yes, I am concerned that LE would place less credibility on the sighting on Grouse Mountain just because the fellow HAD a backpack. Who's to say that Tom wasn't there for part of they day WITH his backpack, and made it back home to meet with foul play. Mind you, if they find the Delaney's sighting on Lynn Valley Rd credible and Tom didn't have a backpack, that would solve that concern.

If the sighting at Delaney's is more credible, then checking with Translink indicates he would have to have taken another bus than the one that would have taken him up to Grouse. Not sure my actual search results will show up, so have just included the link to Translink for you to check:

http://www.translink.ca/?p=2.list

Inputting departure from 1400 East Broadway to either 1277 Lynn Valley Rd or Grouse Mountain (both in North Vancouver), he would have to have taken different buses. From what I can gather, to Grouse he would have taken the #232 or #236, whereas to end up at Delaney's on Lynn Valley Rd he could have taken various other buses (which don't include either the 232 or 236). I wonder what time the Lynn Valley sighting occurred.

Seems to me that Tom intended to be in the Lynn Valley area at some point. It would still be possible for him to have caught one of the other buses from the Lynn Valley area to travel on up to Grouse (about a 51 minute trip), but I can't see him leaving Vancouver at 9:00 am, travelling an hour to Lynn Valley, spending only a couple of hours there, then travelling 51 minutes further to Grouse later in the day because darkness would set in early this time of year and limit the time at Grouse (unless he just simply planned sight-seeing and night-life as opposed to hiking on Grouse).
 
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