By Patrick Book

RCMP give up hope on finding missing Rob Vicente alive

Nov 30, 2010 | 5:09 PM

The RCMP has run out of hope in the case of Rob Vicente, stating they now believe he won't be found alive after going missing on Oct. 10.

The 25-year-old Davidson-area man disappeared Thanksgiving weekend and hasn't been seen or heard from since. His car was discovered days later, burned beyond recognition.

Sergeant Paul Dawson also says more than 100 interviews all over the province and as far as Calgary have been conducted and a home has been searched. He indicates what they've heard so far has lead Major Crimes investigators to believe Vicente is the victim of foul play and that there is no chance he'll be found alive.

A series of searches have been carried out in the Davidson and Bladworth areas, with people on ATVs and on foot. RCMP planes have also canvassed the area, some using heat-vision technology to try and track Vicente down.

“I think it's important for the public to be aware of that,” he explains. “This isn't a case of someone that wanted to go missing, this is a young man that had his whole life ahead of him.”

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He notes an electronic billboard in Davidson will be broadcasting one more plea to the public to come forward with information.

“I was a son,” Dawson begins, reading out the message that will be played four times an hour through the holiday season, “I was a brother, I was loved. I am Rob Vicente and I am no longer alive.” The RCMP is hoping that message will bring forth more information from the public, eventually leading them to discover exactly what happened to him.

Meanwhile, Vicente's mother Pam says her family is struggling to deal with the investigator's conclusion.

“Our hope is kind of different than it was,” she admits. “Of course, we would like Rob to come home alive but as time goes on we kind of realize that might not be possible. But if not, we still want him home. We still need him home.

“It just feels like a huge hole and if we could have him home … we don't know whether to grieve or to hope. If we had him home and had some answers to our questions it would help us go on.”