BURSTA 68-year-old man located deceased near Ootsa Lake, approximately 50 kilometres south of Burns Lake, has been identified by the company he worked for as John Phillip “Phil” McLean.
McLean was reported missing on Sept. 29, and located in the afternoon hours of Oct. 1 following a concerted search effort by Burns Lake RCMP and Burns Lake Search & Rescue.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family, friends and colleagues of John Philip McLean during this difficult time,” stated Burns Lake Search & Rescue via its Facebook page earlier this month.
First Tellurium, a resource exploration company based out of Delta, B.C., stated in a recent press release that McLean was found following an “accident” near the company’s Deer Horn Property − a polymetallic mineral exploration project located approximately 36 kilometres south of Huckleberry Mine.
Police do not consider McLean’s death suspicious.
According to social media reports, McLean left the Pleasant Valley Motel in Houston B.C. on Sept. 22, then travelled to the Ootsa Lake area to load a “hovercraft/barge” into the water. No cause of death has been released at this time.
Highly respected and experienced, “Phil was one of those rare people you never forget,” stated First Tellurium President and CEO Tyrone Docherty.
“I can say without hesitation that he was the most generous person I have ever met. He would do anything for anyone. This is a devastating loss, not only for those of us who knew him personally, but for the drilling and exploration community in British Columbia.
“Phil was a legend in the drilling business. He had decades of knowledge and experience, but more importantly, he had an enormous heart.”
First Tellurium has suspended all further exploration activity at the Deer Horn Property for the remainder of the year.