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‘I’m getting closer to him each day,’ sister of missing Canadian man holding onto hope during Billings search

Posted at 3:13 PM, Oct 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-24 17:18:39-04

BILLINGS – Divers, search and rescue teams and a man-tracking team from Wyoming were just some of the resources used Tuesday in the ongoing search for a Canadian man who went missing near Pryor Road south of Billings.

Still, there was no sign of 37-year-old Cam Collin, who went missing on Oct. 4 during a bachelor party, according to his sister Julia.

The Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office brought in a new tactic to look for clues: a K-9 team and a boat to comb Pryor Creek on the property where Cam was last seen.

“We have no leads as to where Cameron might be but given the lack of sightings, or other activity, we are concentrating on the creek. That will likely be our focus again,” said Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder.

Michalle McMillan is a K-9 handler from Lake County back in Billings again to aid in the search.

“I’m glad to come up and help them,” she said. “This is my second time up here, and this is where my skills are. I do a lot of water.”

McMillan said she works with the water and the wind to track scents with her K-9 unit named SAR, however, Tuesday when asked if the dog picked up a scent, McMillan said no.

K9 Search dog, SAR helps in the search for missing Canadian man, Cam Collin

And of course, Cam’s family is devastated as the search again turns up no clues.

“He’s always said he’d do anything, he’d travel across the world for me,” said Julia Collin. “So I’m trying to do the same for him.”

Julia is down in Montana again, searching for her brother for the second time this month. She’s been walking the wooded area, hanging up posters in gas stations and acting as the spokesperson for her family.

“I’m just trying to keep this in everyone’s mind. Keep people thinking about Cam and keeping an eye out for him,” she said.

Julia said she’s given police Cam’s bank information and internet passwords. She’s lending any information she can to help aid in the investigation and search for him.

But as the physical search continues the details about the hours leading up to his disappearance are hard to pin down for Julia. That’s because at some point on Thursday, somewhere in between lunch with the wedding party and a bachelor party, Cam went missing.

“He was hanging out, but at some point, they decided they were going to go to the bars and they decided Cam was not feeling well or too intoxicated to go. So they left him alone at the shop,” she said.

K9 Search dog, SAR helps in the search for missing Canadian man, Cam Collin
Cam Collin’s sister Julia walks across some property on Pryor Road looking for her missing brother

Julia was told, that when the group returned from a night on the town, Cam was gone.

Julia says Cam visits Montana quite a bit; in fact, she says he loves the states. He attended Montana Tech in Butte, and it’s his roommate who was getting married.

“He’s known the couple for a while. He was excited about it,” said Julia.

By Sunday, after a few messages to her brother with no reply, Julia said she got a call from someone in the wedding party that Cam hasn’t been seen and it was time to call the police.

She knew something was definitely wrong when by Monday, Cam was supposed to take a flight to Utah for work but never made it.

“It’s taken over my life. I am overwhelmed,” she said.

Deputies with the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office in the search for Cam Collin

Linder said the search is still going strong, and the agency has been using resources on the ground and in the air.

“We have done some pretty extensive searches from the air, land and on the actual creek,” Linder said.

Tuesday, the search proximity stayed focused on the area around the house where the wedding party departed from on Pryor Road, the last place Cam was seen.

But Julia is not giving up hope that her big brother is still somewhere out there. She is trying to stay strong for her family back in Canada, especially her mom, she said.

“I’m confident that he’s out there and that we will find him, and I’m hoping that America will help me do that,” she said. “I feel like I’m getting a little bit closer to him each day.”

Cameron Collin has been missing since Oct 4 (Cam Collin Facebook)

Reporting by Andrea Lutz for MTN News